The Federal High Court in Lagos has granted ₦20 million bail to Ezekiel Onyedikachi, aka as EeZeeTee, a former manager of gospel singer, Mercy Chinwo, over an alleged fresh $255,000 forex-related fraud.
In a ruling delivered on Friday, Justice Chukwujekwu Aneke set the bail condition with one surety required, who must reside in Lagos and own property equivalent to the bail sum.
The judge, who had earlier released EeZeeTee into the custody of his lawyer, Mr. Ojukwu Chikaosolu, gave the defendant 72 hours to fulfill the bail terms.
The Economic and Financial Crimes Commission (EFCC) had initially charged EeZeeTee with 14 counts related to fraudulent conversion but later amended the charges to seven counts, accusing him of conducting foreign exchange transactions without the requisite CBN license.
Prosecution counsel Bilikisu Buhari-Bala informed the court that in June 2023, EeZeeTee allegedly executed a $52,895 foreign exchange transaction with one Mr. Oladotun Olaobaju Mureke without approval from the Central Bank of Nigeria (CBN).
This, she argued, violated “Sections 5 and 29(1)(c) of the Foreign Exchange (Monitoring and Miscellaneous Provisions) Act, Cap F34, Laws of the Federation of Nigeria, 2004,” and is “punishable under Section 29(2) of the same Act.”
EeZeeTee pleaded not guilty to the amended charges.
The case has been adjourned to June 20, 2025, for trial.
