Olabisi Onasanya, former group managing director of FirstBank Nigeria, has been freed from charges by the Economic and Financial Crimes Commission (EFCC) after the Federal High Court in Lagos struck out the controversial loan-related case involving his name.
Justice Chukwujekwu Aneke of the Federal High Court, Lagos on Wednesday, July 23, 2025 struck out the case after the EFCC, withdrew the suit following an out-of-court settlement among the parties involved including the nominal complainant (First bank of Nigeria PLC), the erstwhile Chairman of the Bank, Oba Otudeko, who is the first defendant, and his Anchorage Leisure Limited standing as the fourth defendant as well as the intervention of the office of the Attorney General of the federation.
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Rotimi Oyedepo, the counsel to the prosecution, the EFCC, said the withdrawal of the suit was consequent on the confirmation of the repayment of the controversial loan by the defence and the intervention by the office of the Attorney General of the Federation.
The prosecution, represented by Oyedepo, informed the Court that the Attorney-General of the Federation (AGF) had received formal requests to discontinue the case, with First Bank of Nigeria (FBN), the nominal complainant, and the 1st Defendant (Oba Otudeko)’s counsel both confirming to the AGF on July 16, 2025, that a settlement had been reached.
‘’Subsequently, by a letter dated 21st July 2025, FBN formally communicated its decision to no longer pursue the allegations against the Defendants. Following a thorough review of the representations by both the nominal complainant and the First defendant, and since the funds in question had been fully recovered and returned to the Bank’s treasury, the Honourable AGF considered it appropriate on grounds of justice, public policy, and to prevent abuse of legal process to withdraw the charge subject to Section 108 of the Administration of Criminal Justice Act (ACJA) 2015, we hereby move a motion to withdraw the case,” Oyedepo told the court.
Speaking to journalists after the case was dismissed, Michael Osunnuyi, Media Advisor to the retired banker, strongly affirmed Onasanya’s innocence and said he had always been determined to clear his name.
“He’s completely vindicated. From the beginning, we have maintained that he did nothing wrong. He was not actively involved in the approval process for the transaction, as investigated by the EFCC about eight years ago. Dr Onasanya has never taken part in any form of fraud in his over three decades of service in the Nigerian financial sector,” Osunnuyi said.
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Osunnuyi said his principal demonstrated his innocence by voluntarily presenting himself to the court at each sitting to prove that he had nothing to hide.
Onasanya, who retired voluntarily as FirstBank Group managing Director in 2015, said the case had been particularly painful because of the attempted damage to his legacy.
