₦500m fraud: Judge rules against businesswoman’s request to leave EFCC custody

A Federal High Court sitting in Ikoyi, Lagos, has dismissed an application filed by a UK-based businesswoman, Aminah Momoh-Orimoloye, seeking her release from the custody of the Economic and Financial Crimes Commission (EFCC) over her alleged involvement in a ₦500 million fraud.

Justice Musa Kakaki, in a ruling delivered on Monday, September 15, 2025, held that the suspect had already been granted administrative bail by the EFCC but failed to provide credible sureties to meet the conditions. He ruled that her inability to satisfy the bail terms could not be considered a violation of her fundamental rights.

Momoh-Orimoloye, the coordinator of the Economic Empowerment of Women and Youth in Livestock Agriculture (EEWYLA), was arrested on August 5, 2025, following a petition alleging conspiracy and diversion of funds. The petitioner claimed that after transferring ₦1.66 billion into the account of an associate, Abdullahi Bala Muhammed, a balance of ₦500 million was never remitted. Investigations linked Momoh-Orimoloye, Muhammed, and others at large to the alleged diversion.

Through her lawyer, Abimbola Akeredolu (SAN), the businesswoman argued that her detention violated her rights and that the bail conditions imposed by the EFCC were excessive.

Opposing the application, EFCC counsel S.I. Suleiman submitted that the suspect presented unreliable sureties who gave false information in an attempt to secure her release. He further argued that Momoh-Orimoloye, being a UK resident, remained a flight risk.

Justice Kakaki, in dismissing the application, noted: “Having been granted bail, what the applicant ought to do is fulfill the bail terms.”