Court reserves ruling on Blessing CEO’s bail application in alleged N36m fraud case

Justice Deinde Dipeolu of the Federal High Court, Ikoyi, Lagos, has reserved ruling until June 9, 2026, on the bail application filed by social media influencer, Blessing CEO, who is facing 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 on Friday, defence counsel, P.I. Nwafuru, urged the court to grant his client bail on liberal terms.

However, EFCC counsel, S.I. Suleiman, opposed the application, informing the court that the Commission had filed a 28-paragraph counter-affidavit deposed to by the investigating officer, Bufa Regina Okangbe.

Suleiman argued that the defendant allegedly failed to honour invitations extended to her by the Commission during the course of investigations.

“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 listening to both parties, 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 alleged that 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 and discovered multiple bank accounts linked to the defendant.

According to her, letters were subsequently sent to banks, the Lagos State Land Bureau and the Corporate Affairs Commission as part of the investigation.

Okangbe testified that analysis of the bank records led to the defendant being invited for questioning, during which she was confronted with transactions connected to the petitioner.

She further claimed 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 also told the court that the Lagos State Land Bureau confirmed that the disputed property belonged to one Tunbosun Osobu and not the defendant.

According to the investigator, Osobu later appeared before the Commission with his lawyer and son and confirmed that he had leased the property to the defendant for three years, with the original lease expiring in 2023 before being renewed in 2025.

The prosecution tendered several documents, including the petition, statements made by the defendant, tenancy documents and bank account statements.

The defence objected to the admissibility of the defendant’s statements and some banking records, arguing that there was no endorsement showing the presence of a legal practitioner during the recording of the statements and that no video evidence of the exercise had been produced.

However, the prosecution maintained that the statements were lawfully obtained and that the bank records complied with the provisions of Section 84 of the Evidence Act.

In his ruling, Justice Dipeolu dismissed the objections and admitted the documents as exhibits.

The court 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, the witness alleged that the petitioner paid a total of N36 million through a company account for the lease of a property located at No. 1B Tunbosun Osobu Street, Lekki, Lagos.

She stated that N25 million was paid into the defendant’s GTBank account, while another N11 million was transferred into her Access Bank account.

Okangbe further told the court that 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 was not aware of any settlement arrangement allegedly reached between the defendant and the petitioner.

She also stated that she was unaware of claims by the defence that the defendant had refunded N24 million to the petitioner.

The witness added 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.