The Economic and Financial Crimes Commission (EFCC) has once again brought Tunde Ayeni, former chairman of the board of the defunct Skye Bank Plc, now Polaris Bank, before a court over an alleged N15.3 billion fraud.
Ayeni appeared on Wednesday before Hamza Mu’azu, a judge of the Federal Capital Territory (FCT) High Court, to face an amended 18-count charge bordering on alleged criminal breach of trust, misappropriation and diversion of funds.
This marks the latest re-arraignment on charges he previously faced before Jude Onwuegbuzie, another FCT High Court judge, on July 16.
The anti-graft agency said the case was transferred from Onwuegbuzie to Mu’azu.
According to the charge sheet, Ayeni allegedly instructed the transfer of more than N3.1 billion from Skye Bank’s suspense account to an account operated by Misa Limited with Zenith Bank in November 2014, when he was chairman of the bank’s board.
He was also accused of ordering the transfer of over N5 billion from the same suspense account to an account belonging to Greenwich Registrars with Union Bank in December 2014.
Ayeni pleaded not guilty to all the charges when they were read to him in court.
Following his plea, Abba Muhammed, the prosecution counsel, asked the court to fix a date for trial.
However, E. Inegedu, counsel to Ayeni, urged the court to retain the bail conditions earlier granted to his client in May 2026.
Inegedu argued that Ayeni had consistently attended court proceedings and had not breached any of the conditions.
In response, Muhammed said he would leave the decision on the bail conditions to the court.
Both legal representatives acknowledged that the defendant had attended previous court sessions without any reported violation of his bail terms.
The judge subsequently adjourned the case until January 19, 2027, for the commencement of trial.
Previous arraignments
On July 16, Ayeni was re-arraigned before Onwuegbuzie on an 18-count charge, to which he also pleaded not guilty.
He was initially arraigned on May 4 before being re-arraigned on an amended charge on June 22.
Wednesday’s court proceedings marked the fourth time Ayeni had been arraigned in connection with the case in 2026.