Wale Igbintade
Justice Deinde Dipeolu of the Federal High Court, Ikoyi, Lagos, yesterday reserved ruling until June 9, 2026, on the bail application filed by social media influencer, Okoro Blessing Nkiruka, popularly known as Blessing CEO, who is standing trial over an alleged N36 million fraud.
The Economic and Financial Crimes Commission (EFCC) is prosecuting the defendant on a two-count charge bordering on obtaining money by false pretence and stealing.
At the hearing of the bail application, defence counsel, P.I. Nwafuru, urged the court to admit his client to bail on liberal terms.
Opposing the application, EFCC counsel, S.I. Suleiman, informed the court that the Commission had filed a 28-paragraph counter-affidavit deposed to by the investigating officer, Bufa Regina Okangbe, on May 29, 2026.
Suleiman argued that the defendant had, at some point during the investigation, failed to honour invitations extended to her by the Commission.
“We rely on all the depositions contained therein and the exhibits attached. At some point during the course of the investigation, the defendant stopped honouring invitations extended to her by the Commission. We urge Your Lordship not to accede to the request of the defence and instead order an accelerated hearing of the matter,” he submitted.
After hearing arguments from both sides, Justice Dipeolu adjourned ruling on the bail application until June 9.
Earlier, the prosecution opened its case with the testimony of its first witness, Okangbe, an EFCC investigator, who narrated how the Commission allegedly uncovered a scheme through which the defendant received N36 million from a petitioner for a property she did not own.
The witness told the court that following a petition received by the EFCC, investigators conducted a Bank Verification Number (BVN) search on the defendant and discovered multiple bank accounts linked to her.
According to her, the Commission subsequently wrote to the banks, the Lagos State Land Bureau, and the Corporate Affairs Commission (CAC) as part of its investigation.
She said analysis of the defendant’s bank records led to her invitation for questioning, during which she was confronted with transactions linked to the petitioner.
Okangbe further testified that the defendant made statements under caution in the presence of her lawyer and husband and admitted receiving N30 million from the petitioner.
The witness told the court that the Lagos State Land Bureau confirmed that the property in dispute did not belong to the defendant but to one Tunbosun Osobu.
She said Osobu later appeared before investigators with his lawyer and son and confirmed that he had leased the property to the defendant for three years, with the initial lease expiring in 2023 before being renewed in 2025.
According to the witness, the petitioner also provided investigators with a lease agreement allegedly executed with the defendant and a tenancy acquisition form.
During the proceedings, the prosecution sought to tender several documents, including the petition dated February 18, 2025; statements made by the defendant; the tenancy acquisition form; the petitioner’s Zenith Bank account statement; and the defendant’s GTBank and Access Bank account statements.
The defence objected to the admissibility of the defendant’s statements, arguing that there was no endorsement showing the presence of a legal practitioner during the recording process and that no video recording of the exercise had been produced.
Nwafuru also challenged the admissibility of the bank statements.
In response, Suleiman argued that the law does not make the presence of a legal practitioner a mandatory condition for the admissibility of an extra-judicial statement, provided the suspect had the opportunity to be accompanied by a person of choice.
He also maintained that the bank statements were accompanied by the necessary certificates required under Section 84 of the Evidence Act and were properly tendered through the investigating officer.
In a ruling, Justice Dipeolu dismissed the objections and admitted the documents as evidence.
The judge held that Section 17(2) of the Administration of Criminal Justice Act permits a suspect’s statement to be taken in the presence of a legal practitioner, a representative of the Legal Aid Council, a civil society representative, or any other person chosen by the suspect.
Continuing her testimony, Okangbe stated that the petitioner paid a total of N36 million through a company account to the defendant for the lease of a property located at No. 1B Tunbosun Osobu Street, Lekki, Lagos.
She said N25 million was transferred into the defendant’s GTBank account, while another N11 million was paid into her Access Bank account.
According to the witness, investigators traced subsequent transfers from the defendant’s accounts, including N8 million to Mr. and Mrs. Osobu, N1.9 million to Beauty City by Lekki, N11 million to Lina Uzoma Okoro, said to be the defendant’s mother, and N15 million to Kenneth Emeka Onuora.
Under cross-examination, the witness said the Federal Republic of Nigeria, as complainant in the criminal proceedings, was not privy to any settlement arrangement allegedly reached between the defendant and the petitioner.
She also stated that she was unaware of any attempt by the defendant to refund N24 million to the petitioner, as claimed by the defence.
Okangbe further testified that the petitioner had already commenced renovation work on the property before its owner allegedly appeared and ejected them from the premises.
Justice Dipeolu subsequently adjourned the matter until June 9, 2026, for ruling on the bail application and June 22, 2026, for continuation of trial.
