In a high-profile case that underscores the Economic and Financial Crimes Commission’s renewed vigor in tackling financial crime, the EFCC has arraigned Philip Ifejimalu Eze, a prominent oil magnate, alongside his company, Orimiri Oil and Gas, before a Federal Capital Territory High Court.
The charges revolve around an alleged fraud valued at ₦63 million involving the delivery of 45,000 litres of Automatic Gas Oil with a payment controversy at its core.
During the arraignment, the EFCC alleged that in 2024, in the Federal Capital Territory, Eze induced Chief Amechi Nduka of Amatex Oil and Gas to supply the fuel, which was paid for via a Mainstreet Bank cheque. According to the commission, the cheque was already cleared and rejected by Zenith Bank at presentation due to the funds having been previously liquidated—an act the EFCC contends was deliberate deception, in breach of the Advanced Fee Fraud and Other Related Offences Act.
The defendant entered a plea of not guilty upon hearing the charge. The prosecution promptly applied for a trial date, while the court granted Eze bail under strict conditions. He is required to produce two sureties: one must be a civil servant at a minimum Grade Level 12 with verification from the workplace, and the other must reside within the court’s jurisdiction. The bail bond is set at ₦2 million, with one surety providing a house address affidavit.
Justice A. H. Musa adjourned the matter to November 11, 2025, for the commencement of trial proceedings.
In the same proceedings, a Federal High Court in Ikoyi, Lagos, delivered a ruling on a connected case involving digital asset forfeiture. Justice Alexander Owoeye ordered the final confiscation of USDT tokens valued at nearly $223,000. These assets were linked to a syndicate arrested during the EFCC’s “Eagle Flush Operation” in December 2024, a major crackdown on alleged cryptocurrency-fuelled investment and romance fraud. Investigators revealed the syndicate’s financial network, including inflows amounting to over ₦2.27 billion via peer-to-peer crypto transactions, which were traced to a local company known as Genting International Co. Limited.
