Court Sets January 19 Trial Date as Tunde Ayeni Pleads Not Guilty in Alleged N15.39 Billion Fraud Case

The Federal Capital Territory High Court in Maitama, Abuja, has fixed 19 January 2027 for the trial of former Skye Bank chairman Tunde Ayeni, who pleaded not guilty to 18 counts after the Economic and Financial Crimes Commission (EFCC) re-arraigned him on Wednesday, 11 November.

The EFCC alleges that Ayeni misappropriated or diverted about N15.39 billion in depositors’ funds. The charges include criminal breach of trust.

The case was transferred from the FCT High Court in Apo, where Ayeni had previously been arraigned, and is now before Justice H. Mu’azu.

Two of the counts concern transfers the commission alleges Ayeni directed from the bank’s suspense account in 2014.

The EFCC puts those transfers at about N3.11 billion and N5.08 billion. Ayeni denied all the charges when they were read to him.

After the plea, prosecution counsel Abba Muhammed asked the court to set a date for trial. Defence counsel E. Inegedu asked the judge to retain the bail terms granted to Ayeni in May.

Both sides acknowledged that Ayeni had attended previous proceedings without any reported breach of those terms.