EFCC arraigns musician Felix Duke over N21.2m fraud

A Lagos State High Court has granted musician Felix Duke Osagie, popularly known as Felix Duke, N10m bail after he was arraigned by the Economic and Financial Crimes Commission (EFCC) over an alleged N21.2m fraud.

Duke was arraigned on Thursday before Justice Ismail Ijelu at the Ikeja division of the court on a four-count charge bordering on stealing, obtaining money by false pretence, retention of proceeds of crime and giving false information.

The EFCC alleged that the musician fraudulently converted N21.25m belonging to one Joseph Onuh Oguche in 2020.

The commission also accused him of making a false statement to its operatives on April 2, 2026, regarding a parcel of land at Ise, Ibeju-Lekki, Lagos, which he allegedly claimed he had the authority to sell.

Duke pleaded not guilty to all the charges.

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Following his plea, prosecution counsel, Abdulhamid Lamido Tukur, urged the court to remand the defendant in a correctional facility and fix a date for trial.

However, defence counsel, Sunday Afolabi, informed the court of a pending bail application dated November 4 and filed on November 5, supported by an 18-paragraph affidavit sworn to by the defendant’s wife.

He urged the court to grant Duke bail on liberal terms or on self-recognisance.

Opposing the application, Tukur told the court that the prosecution had filed a 14-paragraph counter-affidavit, alleging that the defendant had jumped the EFCC’s administrative bail granted to him in July 2026.

The prosecutor also alleged that Duke had continued pursuing a fundamental rights enforcement suit at another court through his lawyer.

The EFCC said it intended to call four witnesses during the trial.

In his ruling, Justice Ijelu granted the defendant bail in the sum of N10m with two sureties in like sum.

The judge directed that one of the sureties must be a blood relative of the defendant, while both must reside in Lagos and provide evidence of tax payments to the state government within the last three years.

The sureties are also required to provide evidence of verifiable sources of income.

The court further ordered Duke to surrender his international passport to the registrar and barred him from travelling outside Nigeria pending the conclusion of the case.

The judge ordered that the musician be remanded in a correctional facility pending the fulfilment of his bail conditions.

The case was adjourned until December 16, 2026, for the commencement of trial.