Comfort Isaac
Adepoju Emmanuel Abiodun, promoter of Bigibet and his company , Nobelsteed Nigerian Limited have been arraigned before Justice O.A.Okunuga of the Lagos State High Court sitting in Ikeja, Lagos by the Economic and Financial Crimes Commission, EFCC for alleged investment fraud.
Abiodun and his firm are being prosecuted on a 10-count charge bordering on stealing and obtaining under false pretence to the tune of N855m.
The EFCC Spokesperson Dele Oyewale who disclosed this in a statement on Wednesday said the suspect in 2021, allegedly approached the petitioner to introduce Noblesteed, which he claimed was primarily into gaming business(lottery business).
He told the petitioner that he was raising capital for the proposed lottery business and also urged him to invest in Noblesteed’s equity capital.
It was also alleged that the defendant convinced the petitioner that he had been in the industry for a long time.
In view of this, the petitioner allegedly keyed into it and also got some other people to invest in the Noblesteed.
It was further alleged that a total sum of N855,000,000.00 (Eight Hundred and Fifty-Five Million Naira) was paid into Abiodun’s nominated bank account as deposit for shares in the purported capital-raising exercise.
The defendant, however, allegedly reneged on his promise and failed to refund the investors.
One of the counts reads: ”That you, Mr. Adepoju Emmanuel Abiodun, Noblesteed Nigeria Limited, sometime between June, 2021 and September, 2021 in Lagos, within the Ikeja Judicial Division of this Honourable Court, deceitfully obtained the total sum of N855,000,000.00 (Eight Hundred and Fifty Five Million Naira) only, from several unsuspecting persons, through your GT Bank Account No. 0591549473, by falsely representing to them that the said amount was an investment for the purchase of Equity Share Capital of Noblesteed Nigeria Limited, which representation you knew to be false, thereby committed an offence Obtaining money by false pretence contrary to sections 1(1) (a) and 1(3) of the Advance Fee Fraud and Other Fraud Related Offences Act No: 14 of 2006.”
The defendant pleaded “not guilty” to the charge.
In view of this, the prosecution counsel, A.M. Dambuwa, asked the court for a trial date and also prayed the court to remand the defendant in a correctional centre pending the trial.
The defence counsel, Adeyinka Abdulsalam, informed the court of a bail application, which he said had been served on the prosecution counsel.
Justice Okunuga ordered the defendant to be remanded at the Ikoyi correctional centre.
The Judge adjourned till today, July 9, 2025 for the hearing of the bail application and September 17, 2025 for the commencement of trial.
