Emotions ran high at the Lagos Special Offences Court in Ikeja as the Economic and Financial Crimes Commission (EFCC) opened its case against alleged serial fraudster, Titilayo Funmilayo Eboh, with heartbreaking testimony from the wife of the complainant.
The first prosecution witness, Dr. Ifeoma Atoh, a consultant paediatrician, told Justice Rahman Oshodi how she transferred ₦247.5 million in a desperate bid to secure urgent overseas medical treatment for her critically ill husband, only for the promised dollar equivalent to allegedly vanish.
Eboh is standing trial alongside Uchenna Ejindu and Salami Eneojo Stephen on an amended four-count charge bordering on conspiracy, obtaining by false pretence, money laundering and stealing.
They were arraigned on January 30, 2026, over allegations that they conspired to defraud Dr. Atoh’s husband, Jude Nyemike Atoh, of ₦247.5 million.
According to the prosecution, the defendants collected the money in July 2024 under the guise of providing its dollar equivalent, a representation they allegedly knew to be false.
Led in evidence by prosecution counsel, T.J. Banjo, Dr. Atoh narrated how she paid the money in two tranches,₦150 million and ₦97.5 million, into the first defendant’s account after being introduced to her as a Bureau de Change operator.
“My husband had been critically ill and required surgery abroad after months in intensive care. I transferred the money to obtain the dollar equivalent for his urgent treatment, but we never received it,” she told the court.
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Fighting back tears, she appealed for justice. “I want the court to compel them to return the money so my husband can travel for treatment. I do not want to become a widow,” she said.
The prosecution tendered payment receipts and the petition to the EFCC, which were admitted as exhibits.
Under cross-examination by counsel to the first defendant, Victor Okpara, SAN, the witness confirmed that she adopted a petition earlier written by her husband to the anti-graft agency.
Earlier, Justice Oshodi granted the third defendant bail in the sum of ₦50 million with two sureties and ordered a lien on their assets.
The sureties are to provide evidence of tax payments for the last three years. The court also directed the defendant to file an undertaking not to travel outside Nigeria without notifying the court and prosecution, who would inform the Nigeria Immigration Service.
While reaffirming that bail is a constitutional right, the judge noted that the defendant failed to prove that her health condition could not be managed in a correctional facility.
An application by Eboh’s counsel, Solomon Umonnan, SAN, seeking a variation of the bail terms and interim release pending perfection of bail was opposed by the prosecution, which cited prior difficulties in arresting the defendant and a separate pending criminal charge before another court.
The court declined the request for interim release and held that any variation of bail terms must be brought by formal application.
The matter was adjourned to March 13, 2026, for continuation of cross-examination.
