EFCC, Defence File Final Addresses in Mutu’s Alleged ₦320m Money Laundering Trial

Justice F. Giwa Ogunbanjo of the Federal High Court sitting in Abuja has fixed March 23, 2026, for the delivery of judgment in the trial of Nicholas Mutu, a serving member of the House of Representatives, over an alleged ₦320 million fraud.
The judge adjourned the matter on Monday, February 9, 2026, after adopting final written addresses from counsel to both the prosecution and the defence.
Mutu is being prosecuted by the Economic and Financial Crimes Commission (EFCC) alongside Airworld Technologies Ltd and Oyien Homes on a 13-count charge bordering on money laundering and gratification involving the alleged sum of ₦320 million.
At the resumed hearing, counsel to the first and third defendants, E. I. Ekweto, SAN, drew the court’s attention to a motion filed on December 10, 2025, urging the court to strike out the charges and acquit the defendants. The motion was supported by eight grounds and a written address.
In response, prosecution counsel, Ekele Iheanacho, SAN, informed the court that the prosecution had also filed a motion dated January 28, 2026, adopting its final written addresses. He submitted that the EFCC had proved its case beyond reasonable doubt through the testimonies of four witnesses and documentary evidence linking the funds to proceeds of unlawful activities.
According to Iheanacho, the evidence before the court showed that the monies in question were paid as gratifications and not in relation to any legitimate contract. He noted that the testimonies of the prosecution witnesses were neither contradicted nor controverted by the defence.
He further argued that there was an attempt to prepare documents to pervert the course of justice during the proceedings. Iheanacho maintained that the issue was not about the origin of the funds from the Niger Delta Development Commission (NDDC) to Starlines, but rather the payment to Starlines at the instance of the first defendant, which, he said, constituted the unlawful activity as established by the testimonies of PW1 and PW2.
The prosecution therefore urged the court to hold that it had successfully proved its case beyond reasonable doubt and to convict the defendants.
After hearing submissions from both sides, Justice Ogunbanjo adjourned the matter to March 23, 2026, for delivery of judgment.