The Economic and Financial Crimes Commission (EFCC) has arraigned Adepoju Emmanuel Abiodun, a gaming promoter and founder of Bigibet, along with his company, Noblesteed Nigeria Limited, over an alleged N855 million investment fraud.
The arraignment took place on Wednesday, July 8, before Justice O.A. Okunuga of the Lagos State High Court, Ikeja.
Abiodun and Noblesteed Nigeria Limited are facing a 10-count charge bordering on stealing and obtaining money under false pretences, allegedly committed between June and September 2021.
How the fraud was committed
According to the EFCC, the defendant approached the petitioner in 2021 and introduced Noblesteed Nigeria Limited as a company engaged in the lottery and gaming business.
Abiodun claimed he was raising capital for the business and persuaded the petitioner to invest in Noblesteed’s equity capital. He also assured the petitioner of his long-standing experience in the industry.
Convinced by these representations, the petitioner invested heavily and brought in other individuals who collectively deposited N855 million into the defendant’s designated bank account.
However, the EFCC alleged that after receiving the funds, Abiodun failed to refund the investors or deliver on his promises, thereby breaching the terms of the investment.
Details from the court charges
One of the charges 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…”
The charges were brought under Sections 1(1)(a) and 1(3) of the Advance Fee Fraud and Other Fraud Related Offences Act No. 14 of 2006.
Abiodun and his company pleaded not guilty to all 10 counts.
Court orders remand, sets trial dates
Following the plea, EFCC counsel A.M. Dambuwa requested the court to remand the defendant in a correctional facility and set a date for trial.
In response, the defence counsel, Adeyinka Abdulsalam, informed the court that a bail application had already been filed and served.
Justice Okunuga ordered that Abiodun be remanded at the Ikoyi Correctional Centre pending the hearing of the bail application, which is scheduled for July 9, 2025.
The court also fixed September 17, 2025, for the commencement of the trial.
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