Tunde Ayeni fraud case sees ex-Skye Bank chairman remanded in Kuje over alleged N15.6bn misappropriation

Justice Jude Onwuzuruike of the Federal Capital Territory High Court in Apo on Monday ordered the remand of Tunde Ayeni at the Kuje Correctional Centre over an alleged N15.6 billion fraud.

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The Tunde Ayeni fraud case took a dramatic turn after the former chairman of the defunct Skye Bank Plc was arraigned on a 17-count charge bordering on criminal breach of trust, misappropriation and conversion of investors’ funds totalling N15,665,085,429. Tunde Ayeni pleaded not guilty to all counts.

Prosecutors from the Economic and Financial Crimes Commission, represented by Senior Advocate Ekele Iheanacho, alleged that Tunde Ayeni unlawfully diverted large sums from depositors’ funds during his tenure at the bank.

Following the plea, Ekele Iheanacho urged the court to fix a trial date and remand the defendant in custody. Defence counsel Ahmed Raji opposed the request, seeking his client’s release to counsel or continued custody with the anti-graft agency.

In a firm ruling, Justice Jude Onwuzuruike rejected the defence application and directed that Tunde Ayeni be held in Kuje pending the hearing of his bail application, underscoring the gravity of the allegations.

Court filings detailed multiple transactions in which funds were allegedly transferred from the bank’s suspense accounts to private entities in breach of regulatory guidelines, forming the basis of the charges.

The Tunde Ayeni fraud case has heightened scrutiny of corporate governance in Nigeria’s banking sector, given the scale of the alleged misappropriation and the seniority of the defendant at the time of the offences.