A Federal High Court sitting in Abuja, Nigeria’s Federal Capital Territory (FCT), has admitted top executives of SunTrust Bank Ltd, Mrs. Halima Buba and Innocent Mbagwu, the bank’s Executive Director/Chief Compliance Officer, to bail in the sum of One Hundred Million Naira (N100,000,000,000.00) each and one surety each, in like sum.
Mrs. Buba and Mr. Mbagwu are arraigned before the court by the Economic and Financial Crimes Commission (EFCC) and are respectively being prosecuted on a six-count charge, bordering on money laundering to the tune of $12 million (Twelve Million Dollars).
Presiding Judge of the Court, Justice Emeka Nwite, who admitted the duo on bail further held that their sureties must have landed properties in Abuja, of which the particulars of the properties be deposited with the court. The sureties are also to deposit their passports, two recent passport photographs with the court, and all the documents the sureties provided, including verification of their residences.
Justice Nwite, however, ordered that Mrs. Buba and Mr. Mbagwu be remanded in a correctional facility pending the fulfilment of their bail conditions and adjourned the matter until July 17 and 18 for the continuation of the trial.
Earlier in court, lead prosecution counsel Rotimi Oyedepo, SAN, who announced the prosecution’s readiness to proceed with the trial while praying for an accelerated hearing, described the defendants’ bail application as incompetent, given that the defendants were neither under arrest nor in detention nor had appeared before the court. He referred to the Administration of Criminal Justice Act (ACJA) and asked the court to discountenance the said bail application.
J.J. Usman, SAN, lead counsel for the defendants, reminded the court of the defendants’ subsisting bail applications, which were dated May 27, 2025, and prayed that the court uphold the applications and admit the duo to bail.
Some of the count charges read: “That you, HALIMA BUBA, Managing Director/Chief Executive Officer SunTrust Bank Ltd, and INNOCENT MBAGWU being the Executive Director /Chief Compliance Officer SunTrust Bank Ltd on the 10th day of March, 2025 in Abuja within the jurisdiction of the Honourable Court aided Femi Gbamgboye to make a cash payment of the sum of Three Million United States Dollars ($3,000,000) to Suleiman Muhammed Chiroma and associates without going through a financial institution and thereby committed an offence contrary to Section 2l(a), 2(1), 19(l)(d) of the Money Laundering (Prevention and Prohibition) Act, 2022 and punishable under Section 19 (2) (b) of the same Act.
“That you, HALIMA BUBA, the Managing Director/ChiefExecutive Officer of SunTrust Bank Ltd and INNOCENT MBAGWU, the Executive Director/Chief Compliance Officer of SunTrust Bank Ltd on the 13th day of March, 2025 in Lagos within the jurisdiction of this Honourable Court conspired amongst yourselves to make a cash payment of the sum of Three Million United States Dollars ($3,000,000) to Mukhtar Miko an associate of Suleiman Muhammed Chiroma without going through a financial institution and thereby committed an offence contrary to Section 2l(a), 2( 1 ), 19(1 )( d) of the Money Laundering (Prevention and Prohibition) Act, 2022 and punishable under Section 19 (2) (b) of the same Act.”
They both pleaded “not guilty” to all the charges.
