The Economic and Financial Crimes Commission has brought Adonu Kingsley Ifeanyi and his firm, S Mobile Netzone Limited, before a Federal High Court in Lagos over an alleged fraud totalling N12,556,837,842. The defendants were arraigned before Justice J. Bogoro of the Lagos Division, according to Peoples Gazette Nigeria, which reported the commission's announcement on Monday.
The pair face five counts that include obtaining money by false pretence and stealing. Both entered not guilty pleas when the charges were read to them.
Why it matters
The case is one of the larger money laundering prosecutions the EFCC has announced in recent months, with the sum at stake running into the billions of naira. It also illustrates a pattern the commission has pursued repeatedly: charging a company alongside its operator, so that the corporate account through which funds allegedly moved sits directly in the dock.
For the public, the filing offers a paper trail of dates and figures — the kind of detail that rarely surfaces until a matter reaches open court. The allegations remain untested, and the defendants deny them.
What the charges say
According to Peoples Gazette Nigeria, one count accuses Mr Ifeanyi of taking in N1.24 billion through a bank account held by S Mobile Netzone Limited between June 4, 2021 and October 31, 2022, while knowing the money came from unlawful activity.
A separate count alleges he received N6.79 billion through the company's account between January 15, 2020 and April 14, 2022, with knowledge that the funds were proceeds of stealing.
The commission said the alleged conduct falls under Section 15(2)(d) of the Money Laundering (Prohibition) Act, 2011, as amended, and is punishable under Section 15(3) of the same law.
Bail terms carried over from an earlier ruling
After the pleas were taken, prosecution counsel Suleiman I. Suleiman asked the court to schedule the trial, and Justice Bogoro granted the request.
The judge also admitted the defendants to bail on the same conditions that Justice C. J. Aneke had set on July 8, 2025. Peoples Gazette Nigeria did not set out those conditions in its report.
The matter was adjourned to February 11, 2027, when trial proceedings are expected to begin.
The EFCC has not indicated whether it will call additional witnesses or present further documentary evidence beyond what the charges describe. No date has been given for any substantive hearing before the adjourned date.
What to watch: whether the trial opens as scheduled in February 2027, and whether the bail terms set last year are varied or maintained in the meantime.
