Dr. Jude Ndudi, a Nigerian businessman, told a Federal High Court in Lagos about how he and his sister were threatened by Fidelis Egueke, a former bank manager, when they demanded the return of more than N480 million that he said was missing from his company’s accounts.
Former Asaba branch manager Egueke is on trial for a 16-count amended charge brought by the Force Criminal Investigation Department Annex, Legal and Prosecution Department, Alagbon Ikoyi, Lagos.
Conspiracy, fraud, unlawful conversion, acquiring money under false pretenses, and unauthorized withdrawal are some of the charges.
The case, FHC/L/298c/2020, is being handled by Justice Owoeye, the fourth judge to do so.
Dr. Ndudi, who was led in testimony by prosecutor Morufu Ajani Animashaun at the resumed hearing last Tuesday, described how the defendant allegedly asked him to support the political campaign of his relative, Great Ogboru, who he claimed had promised to appoint him Commissioner of Finance if he won the Delta State governorship election.
Dr. Ndudi informed the court that he donated the defendant N20 million because the defendant claimed that if the politician won, it would assist him get the Commissioner of Finance position in Ogboru’s future administration.
The witness stated: “He advised me and my sister to wear bulletproof vests and arrive in a bulletproof vehicle when I informed him that I would be traveling to Port Harcourt for a petition against him.” Startled, I revealed to him that I was the same person who had given his wife a brand-new Mercedes. that I am the same individual who paid for a Caribbean cruise and secured visas for him, his wife, and his kids to enter the United States. I even purchased the outfit he was wearing the day he threatened me.
“I told him that I would not be bullied and that we would meet in Port Harcourt,” he added. After outlining the circumstances to my wife, I told her that I would be leaving. The defendant’s failure to fulfill his promise to return the money shocked her. She said I ought to draft a petition. I subsequently hired a lawyer, who submitted the petition to the Alagbon AIG.
The witness claimed that he received an invitation to speak in Alagbon between October 10 and 15, 2020. He found the defendant making his own statement when he arrived.
“The defendant and his attorneys came up to me and begged for a settlement after we had both concluded our remarks. They assured me that the defendant would proceed with a settlement and give me my money as soon as he fulfilled his bail requirements. I told the defendant that N480 million was missing from the company’s account, N180 million was unaccounted for in the account made for my sister Blessing Ndudi, and more than N150 million was for products that he collected but never deposited when the defendant inquired how much money he had stolen.
He claimed that the defendant requested a return to a previous arrangement wherein he had committed to paying N15 million up front and settling the remaining amount on a monthly basis. The witness consented, but the investigating police officer later told them that any arrangement would be between the defendant and the police because the subject was now under police jurisdiction.
The defendant stated that he did not want a written contract since it would put his employment at Zenith Bank at risk. He demanded the statement he had given to the police and chewed it after we couldn’t agree, Dr. Ndudi told the court.
The witness continued, saying that once he married his sister, the defendant started pressuring him to work for his company, but his wife rejected the proposal.
He said that in November 2009, his sister called him and expressed her desire for a divorce due to the defendant’s excessive pressure to work for his company.
According to Dr. Ndudi, the defendant opposed his plan to open a joint account for his sister at First Bank, insisting that the account be opened with his bank in order to improve his performance and prospects for advancement. He claims that the defendant put N15 million into the new account after bringing the account-opening paperwork on March 23, 2009.
“The defendant took out N7 million on the day the money was deposited into the account, and within two weeks, the full N15 million. We ultimately lost almost N180 million in that account, he stated.
He continued by saying that Chief Ori, a forensic auditor, subsequently found that the defendant had taken more than N179 million straight out of the business account.
Additionally, the witness informed the court that in January 2012, N7,981,083.51 was deposited into the company’s account by SUBEB Asaba, a corporation that also conducts business with us. The defendant barely left N1,000 in the account after withdrawing all of the funds that same month. After that, he sent the funds in three installments into his GTB personal account.
He further stated in his testimony that at some point in November 2018, the defendant called to inform him that he was running for his state’s Commissioner of Finance and that he required money. He declared, “On his behalf, I donated N20 million.”
Dr. Ndudi remembered another instance in which the defendant allegedly borrowed N100 million from him.
Even though the defendant was his brother-in-law, Dr. Ndudi told the court at a prior hearing in July that “the idea of family is no longer there since 2020.” He also mentioned that the defendant had stopped providing for the family’s needs, including paying his children’s school tuition and feeding allowance.
“In January 2020, I discovered that hundreds of millions of naira were allegedly stolen from my account and the defendant’s name appeared throughout the bank statements,” the witness stated in reference to the suspected theft.
He claimed that when he approached the defendant, the latter pleaded with him not to call the police and assured him that the money would be returned. “The defendant informed me that he used my money to renovate a hostel in Abraka, build two houses in Warri, purchase two properties in Asaba, and build a house in Asaba.”
He continued by saying that when he insisted on a written agreement, the defendant claimed he preferred an oral one because a written one could be used to put him under jail or fire him.
“The amount I allegedly stole is too much and I have decided, and my lawyer and family agreed, that it is better for me to fight you with your money and keep the rest,” the defendant allegedly subsequently stated.
According to the witness, he informed him that he would be charged with theft, embezzlement, breach of trust, racketeering, and tax evasion in America and might be imprisoned for 25 years to life. The witness stated, “He responded that he would hire Senior Advocates of Nigeria and that this is Nigeria and nothing will happen.”
He claimed that because he had worked as a bank manager in Asaba for more than 20 years, the defendant assured him that no Asaba police officer would bring charges against him.
Additionally, he claimed that when he confronted the defendant about a N500,000 transfer he noticed in Blessing Ndudi’s bank statement, the defendant claimed that the beneficiary was a former ADC to a prior governor who went on to become a tactical commander at Asaba police headquarters.
“I then informed the defendant that since he had now been transferred to Port Harcourt, I would file the petition there,” the witness stated.
It was reported that the defendant quit the bank after being questioned about the purported fraud and for demarketing the institution.
In November 2020, he was initially charged with three and fourteen counts of previously revised charges before Justice Obiozor. Following the transfer of Justice Obiozor, he was re-arraigned before Judge Ringim on August 7, 2022. After several judicial transfers, the case was sent to Justice Ogundare and is currently before Justice Owoeye.
March 3 and 4, 2026, have been set aside for further hearings.
