A Lagos State High Court sitting in Ikeja on Wednesday adjourned the arraignment of Lagos-based businessman Michael Abiodun Ponle and his company, Origin Oil and Gas Limited, over alleged $20 million fraud to April 13, 2026.
Ponle and Origin Oil and Gas Limited are to be arraigned on a three-count charge bordering on obtaining money by false pretence, possession of false documents, and forgery, brought against them by the Economic and Financial Crimes Commission (EFCC).
When the matter came up, EFCC counsel informed the court that a charge had already been filed and urged that it be read to enable the defendants take their plea.
However, counsel to the second defendant, Victor Okpara, SAN, requested an adjournment, arguing that the prosecution failed to comply with Section 252(6) of the Administration of Criminal Justice Act (ACJA), which mandates that a corporate defendant must be served with the charge at least three days before arraignment.
Okpara also appealed for additional time to allow parties explore mediation ahead of the next hearing.
Counsel to the first defendant, Olalekan Ojo, SAN, aligned himself with the application, informing the court that the nominal complainant-the father of the first defendant, had died on December 14, 2025.
He noted that the deceased had accused his first son of forging his signature and expressed optimism that the matter could be amicably resolved within the family.
The EFCC prosecutor did not oppose the request, prompting the court to adjourn the case to April 13, 2026, for arraignment.
According to the charge, the defendants allegedly induced a commercial bank in 2012 to grant a $20 million credit facility to Origin Oil and Gas Limited by presenting a document titled “Legal Mortgage of Account of a Third Party between Miccom Cables & Wires Ltd and the Bank” as genuine security for the loan.
The prosecution alleged that the document was false, forged, and knowingly presented as authentic. One of the counts further accuses the defendants of forging a “Legal Mortgage to Secure Account of a Third Party” dated September 18, 2012, relating to a property located at Plot 19, Zone E, Federal Government Layout, Banana Island Foreshore Estate, Ikoyi, Lagos.
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