On Tuesday, March 3, 2026, two bank employees, Bakare Oladimeji Surajudeen and James Olukayode Imokwede, were charged by Lagos Zonal Directorate 1 of the Economic and Financial Crimes Commission (EFCC), Ikoyi, Lagos, in connection with a purported $306,667.81 and €50,250 fraud before Judge Ismaila Ijelu of the Lagos State High Court in Ikeja.
The defendants, who are both senior employees of FSDH Merchant Bank Limited, were charged with ten counts related to allegedly stealing and holding onto stolen property valued at $306,667.81 and €50,250. The petitioner, FSDH Merchant Bank Limited, claimed that an internal audit of its Letters of Credit (LC) payable accounts revealed unauthorized debits totaling $306,667.81 and €50,250, or N527,406,916.66 (Five Hundred and Twenty-Seven Million, Four Hundred and Six Thousand, Nine Hundred and Sixteen Naira, Sixty-six kobo). Investigations showed that the defendants used the SWIFT facility to process fraudulent transfers to third parties.
The first count read: “That you, BAKARE OLADIMEJI SURAJUDEEN and JAMES OLUKAYODE IMOKWEDE, dishonestly took the sum of N527,406,916.66 (Five Hundred and Twenty-Seven Million, Four Hundred and Six Thousand, Nine Hundred and Sixteen Naira, Sixty Six kobo), property of FSDH Merchant Bank Limited, within the jurisdiction of this Honorable Court.”
The second count read was: “That you BAKARE OLADIMEJI SURAJUDEEN AND JAMES Olukayode Imokwede dishonestly took the sum of $306,667.81 (Three Hundred and Six Thousand, Six Hundred and Sixty Seven dollars, Eighty One Cents) property of FSDH Merchant Bank Limited sometime in 2021 in Lagos within the jurisdiction of this Honourable Court” is another count.
In response to every accusation brought against them, the defendants entered a plea of “not guilty.”
H. U. Kofarnaisa, the prosecution’s attorney, requested a trial date from the court after the defendants entered their pleas. He also begged that the defendants be placed on remand in a correctional facility until their trial. Oluwaseun Akintunde and Olajide S. Onasanya, the first and second defendants’ attorneys, told the court that bail petitions had been submitted on their behalf and begged the court to grant them bail on favorable terms. Additionally, they urged that the defendants be placed under remand in the custody of the EFCC until their bail terms were fulfilled.
However, the prosecution’s attorney rejected the defense’s requests for the defendants in EFCC custody to be remanded, claiming that “the EFCC detention facilities are overstretched.”
Judge Ijelu gave the accused N2 million each in bail, along with two sureties in the same amount, after hearing arguments from both sides. One of the sureties must be a family member who works for pay, according to the court’s decision. The sureties must demonstrate proof of livelihood, have their residences confirmed, and establish that they have paid taxes during the last three years.
After then, the judge remanded the prisoners to a correctional facility while their bail terms were being fulfilled. The case was postponed by Justice Ijelu until March 25, 2026, when the trial would begin.
