Two bank officials have testified before a Lagos State Special Offences Court in Ikeja in the trial of former Nigerian Railway Corporation (NRC) Managing Director, Fidet Okhiria, over the alleged theft of $385,000 and ₦165.4 million belonging to the corporation....
Two bank officials have testified before a Lagos State Special Offences Court in Ikeja in the trial of former Nigerian Railway Corporation (NRC) Managing Director, Fidet Okhiria, over the alleged theft of $385,000 and ₦165.4 million belonging to the corporation.
The witnesses, who appeared for the Economic and Financial Crimes Commission (EFCC), testified on Thursday before Justice Rahman Oshodi, detailing how their banks responded to the commission’s requests for financial records linked to the investigation.
Okhiria is facing a seven-count charge bordering on alleged money laundering, abuse of office and unlawful enrichment by a public official.
Led in evidence by EFCC prosecuting counsel, Abba Muhammed, SAN, the first prosecution witness, Abasiama Idiong, a compliance officer with Access Bank, told the court that the bank received requests from the commission between October 2025 and January 2026 for account statements and account-opening documents belonging to some customers, including Okhiria and one Ndubusi Vincent.
Idiong said he retrieved the requested records from the relevant branches, printed them and submitted them to his superiors for approval before forwarding them to the EFCC.
He also confirmed the account numbers, names of account holders and authorised signatories associated with the records.
Documents tendered through the witness, including certified account statements, a certificate of identification and correspondence between Access Bank and the EFCC, were admitted in evidence as exhibits.
The second prosecution witness, Clement Mgbolu, a compliance officer with Zenith Bank, told the court that the bank received investigation requests from the EFCC in June, September and October 2025 for customers’ account statements and account-opening documents.
Mgbolu said he generated and verified the requested records before preparing a certificate of compliance and a forwarding letter.
He added that the documents were approved by his superiors before being submitted to the commission.
During cross-examination by defence counsel, Adebowale Kamoru, Idiong reiterated that the account numbers under investigation belonged to the defendant and that the transactions in question were conducted through the accounts.
The second witness also confirmed that the transaction narrations being examined were contained in the relevant bank statements.
The proceedings focused on financial records obtained from the two banks as the prosecution continued presenting evidence in support of its case against the former NRC managing director.
Justice Oshodi adjourned the case until October 30 and November 6, 2026, for continuation of the trial.
Okhiria’s guilt has not been established, and the allegations remain before the court.