The Economic and Financial Crimes Commission has re-arraigned former Chairman of the defunct Skye Bank Plc, Tunde Ayeni, before the Federal Capital Territory High Court sitting in Apo, Abuja, over amended alleged ₦15.6 billion fraud charges.
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Ayeni was re-arraigned on Thursday before Justice Jude Onwuegbuzie following the latest amendment to the charges filed by the anti-graft agency.
Thursday’s proceedings marked the third time Ayeni would be taking his plea in the case. The EFCC had first arraigned him on May 4, 2026, after which the court remanded him in prison pending the determination of his bail application. He was later re-arraigned on June 22, before the latest re-arraignment on Thursday.
According to a statement by the EFCC’s Head of Media and Publicity, Dele Oyewale, the defendant pleaded not guilty when the amended charges were read to him.
The EFCC is prosecuting Ayeni on 18 counts bordering on alleged criminal breach of trust, misappropriation and diversion of funds said to belong to Skye Bank, now Polaris Bank Limited.
One of the counts alleges that Ayeni, while serving as Chairman of the Board of Skye Bank Plc, directed the transfer of ₦3.11 billion from the bank’s suspense account to the account of Misa Limited with Zenith Bank in November 2014.
Another count alleges that he directed the transfer of about ₦5 billion from the bank’s suspense account to Greenwich Registrars’ account with Union Bank in December 2014.
The EFCC alleged that the transactions amounted to criminal breach of trust punishable under the Penal Code.
After the re-arraignment, prosecuting counsel, Abba Muhammed, SAN, informed the court that the prosecution was ready to proceed with trial and that its first witness was present in court.
However, defence counsel, Olalekan Ojo, SAN, opposed the immediate commencement of trial, arguing that the prosecution had not filed the summary of the witness’s statement.
The prosecution countered that the witness statement summary had been filed alongside the second amended charge.
Justice Onwuegbuzie held that the prosecution had complied with the necessary requirements and subsequently fixed July 20, 22 and 23, 2026, for continuation of trial.
The repeated arraignments followed amendments made by the EFCC to the charges.
Ayeni was first arraigned on 17 counts alleging the diversion and misappropriation of ₦15.6 billion belonging to the defunct Skye Bank. He pleaded not guilty.
The EFCC later amended the charge to 18 counts after filing additional proof of evidence, leading to his re-arraignment on June 22, when he again pleaded not guilty.
Ayeni served as Chairman of the Board of Skye Bank until July 2016, when the Central Bank of Nigeria removed the bank’s board and management during a regulatory intervention over the bank’s deteriorating financial condition.
In 2018, the CBN revoked Skye Bank’s banking licence and transferred its assets and liabilities to Polaris Bank, a bridge bank established by the regulator.
The EFCC said the case arose from investigations into transactions allegedly carried out while Ayeni chaired the bank’s board.
The Commission alleged that billions of naira were diverted from the bank’s suspense account to companies linked to the defendants in breach of the bank’s operational policies and regulatory guidelines.
Ayeni has denied the allegations and pleaded not guilty to all the charges.
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