EFCC has arraigned Bigibet Promoter over alleged ₦855 million investment fraud.
NaijaOnPoint Nigeria reports that the Economic and Financial Crimes Commission (EFCC), Lagos Zonal Directorate 2, has arraigned Adepoju Emmanuel Abiodun, the promoter of Bigibet, for allegedly defrauding investors of ₦855 million under the guise of raising capital for a lottery business.
Abiodun, alongside his company, Noblesteed Nigeria Limited, was brought before Justice O.A. Okunuga of the Lagos State High Court in Ikeja on a 10-count charge bordering on stealing and obtaining money under false pretence.
According to the EFCC, Abiodun approached a petitioner in 2021, introducing Noblesteed as a gaming company seeking funds to expand its operations. He allegedly convinced the petitioner and others who were later brought in to invest, that the funds would be used to purchase equity shares in Noblesteed.
Investigations revealed that a total of ₦855 million was paid into a bank account controlled by Abiodun, supposedly as part of the capital-raising exercise. However, the EFCC alleged that the funds were not used for the intended purpose, and investors were never refunded.
One of the charges reads:
“That you, Mr. Adepoju Emmanuel Abiodun, and Noblesteed Nigeria Limited, between June and September 2021, in Lagos, within the Ikeja Judicial Division of this Honourable Court, fraudulently obtained the sum of ₦855,000,000.00 through your GTBank account, by falsely representing it as an investment in the equity share capital of Noblesteed Nigeria Limited, which you knew to be false…”
The charge falls under Sections 1(1)(a) and 1(3) of the Advance Fee Fraud and Other Fraud Related Offences Act, 2006.
Abiodun pleaded not guilty to all charges.
Following his plea, prosecution counsel A.M. Dambuwa requested a trial date and asked that the defendant be remanded in custody pending trial. The defence counsel, Adeyinka Abdulsalam, informed the court of a bail application already submitted to the prosecution.
Justice Okunuga ordered that the defendant be remanded at the Ikoyi Correctional Centre. The court scheduled July 9, 2025, for the bail hearing and September 17, 2025, for the commencement of trial.