The Economic and Financial Crimes Commission (EFCC) has arraigned two men, Ali Bala and Yusuf Umar Anka, before the Lagos State High Court in Ikeja over an alleged £110,000 and ₦500 million fraud.
The defendants were arraigned on Friday, September 4, 2026, by the Lagos Zonal Directorate 1 of the EFCC before Justice Olukayode Ogunjobi.
They are facing a 10-count charge bordering on alleged money laundering, stealing and retention of stolen property.
According to the anti-graft agency, the alleged offences include financial transactions purportedly carried out to disguise the source of stolen funds.
One of the counts alleged that Bala, also known as Barrister Ahmed, and Anka, sometime in 2025 in Lagos, conducted financial transactions involving proceeds of unlawful activities in an attempt to conceal the source of £110,000 allegedly stolen by them.
The EFCC said the alleged offence contravened Section 7(1)(b)(i) of the Advance Fee Fraud and Other Fraud Related Offences Act, 2006.
When the charges were read to them, both defendants pleaded not guilty.
Following their pleas, the prosecution counsel, H.U. Kofarnaisa, asked the court to fix a date for trial and ordered that the defendants be remanded in a correctional facility pending the commencement of proceedings.
Defence counsel, however, informed the court that a bail application had already been filed and was pending before the court.
Ruling on the matter, Justice Ogunjobi adjourned the case until September 8, 2026, for the hearing of the defendants’ bail application.
The judge further ordered that Bala and Anka remain in EFCC custody pending the determination of the bail application.
The defendants will remain presumed innocent unless and until the allegations against them are established in court.
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