The Economic and Financial Crimes Commission (EFCC), on Wednesday, dropped its original allegations of fraudulent conversion of earnings against popular gospel music executive, Ezekiel Onyedikachi, widely known as EeZeeTee.
Instead, the EFCC has filed amended charges against him, focusing on non-disclosure of his company’s financial transactions.
Earlier, the EFCC had accused the Chief Executive Officer of EeZee Global Concept Ltd of misappropriating proceeds belonging to gospel singer, Mercy Chinwo.
However, on Wednesday, the anti-graft agency filed an amended eight-count charge at the Federal High Court in Lagos. The new charges now centre on regulatory breaches related to foreign exchange transactions and the failure to report company earnings.
According to the amended charges, EeZeeTee and his company are accused of engaging in unauthorised foreign exchange deals and failing to submit necessary disclosures to the Special Control Unit Against Money Laundering (SCUML) for the years 2022 and 2023.
The charges state that during this period, EeZee Global Concept Ltd received $255,436 in its corporate account.
One of the charges reads, “That you, Ezekiel Onyedikachi and EeZee Global Concept Ltd, sometime in June 2023 in Lagos, within the jurisdiction of this Honourable Court, not being an authorized buyer of foreign currency appointed by the Central Bank of Nigeria under Section 5(1) of the Foreign Exchange Monitoring and Miscellaneous Provisions Act, CAP F34 LFN 2004, negotiated a foreign exchange transaction to wit: the naira equivalent of the sum of $52,895 with Mr. Oladotun Olaobaju Mureke.”
The EFCC also accused EeZeeTee and his company of engaging in another unauthorised forex transaction amounting to $18,775 with one Gift Ugochi Christopher, outside the official foreign exchange market.
Upon arraignment, EeZeeTee pleaded not guilty to all counts. His lead counsel, Chikaosolu Ojukwu (SAN), informed the court that a bail application had already been filed and served on the EFCC.
Ojukwu requested that the court grant bail under liberal terms and revealed that there were ongoing efforts to resolve the matter amicably out of court.
However, EFCC prosecuting counsel, Bilikisu Buhari, opposed the bail application and urged that EeZeeTee be remanded in custody pending determination of the application.
Justice Chukwujekwu Aneke, who presided over the matter, asked for clarification on how EeZeeTee had appeared in court, as the EFCC had claimed an arrest warrant had been issued.
Ojukwu countered, asserting that his client had been granted administrative bail by the EFCC and had voluntarily appeared in court. He further argued that the EFCC had failed to provide evidence of a formal invitation that his client had ignored.
Following arguments from both sides, Justice Aneke adjourned the ruling on the bail application to May 9, 2025, while ordering that EeZeeTee be released to his counsel.
Tensions escalated after the court session when EFCC operatives attempted to rearrest EeZeeTee at the court’s entrance gate. The situation was eventually de-escalated following the intervention of a senior EFCC official, allowing EeZeeTee to leave peacefully.
