Oba Otudeko, a former Chairman of the First Bank of Nigeria (FBN), has suddenly left Nigeria, TheCable can report.
His departure comes in the wake of his imminent arraignment by the Economic and Financial Crimes Commission (EFCC) on a 13-count charge of alleged fraud.
TheCable understands that the businessman left the country via one of the land borders.
According to security sources, he was dropped off at the Nigeria-Benin border on Thursday evening, 16 January, 2025, by a family member.
When TheCable reached out to Otudeko, his phone number was switched off. Messages sent to his WhatsApp, however, delivered — but there was no response.
Obafemi Otudeko, his son, did not respond to calls and messages when contacted for comments on his father’s whereabouts and destination.
Earlier on Thursday, the EFCC filed charges against Otudeko and three others at the federal high court in Lagos for allegedly obtaining a N30 billion loan under false pretences. The anti-graft agency said the defendants would be arraigned on Monday.
The three other defendants are Stephen Olabisi Onasanya, a former group managing director of FBN; Soji Akintayo, an ex-board member of Honeywell Flour Mills plc; and Anchorage Limited, a company linked to Otudeko.
In the charge sheet seen by TheCable, the EFCC accused Otudeko and the other defendants of obtaining tranches of loans—N12.3 billion, N5.2 billion, N6.2 billion, N6.1 billion, and N1.5 billion—from First Bank under the pretence that the funds were obtained by some firms.
