A Federal High Court in Lagos has adjourned the N30 billion investment scam case involving two officials of Oxford International Group Ltd, Mr. Teniola Adesanya and Mrs. Precious Ogun-Micheal, until May 8, 2025, for arraignment. The two are facing charges related to the operation of illegal business organizations.
The presiding judge, Justice Dehinde Dipeolu, has issued an order for a public summons to be published due to the failure of the accused to appear in court. The summons can be disseminated through a national newspaper circulating within Nigeria or affixed to the last known addresses of the defendants, or even displayed at the courthouse.
The charges include criminal conspiracy and offering for subscription unregistered collective investment schemes. The two officials, who are among eight defendants named in the case, failed to appear for their scheduled arraignment. Consequently, a bench warrant has been issued for their appearance on October 28, 2024.
According to the Federal Government, the accused, alongside their company and five others, conspired to offer fraudulent investment schemes to the public. The schemes, including Buildvest, Mortgagevest, Agrovest, and Dredgevest, were valued at over N30 billion. The unsuspecting public, including individuals such as Oyewumi Kazeem, Temitope Grace Obalade, Mrs. Lotachukwu Nnamdi-Okafor, Ernest Essuman, and Iwunze Henry, were reportedly lured into the illegal investment offers between 2019 and 2022.
The charges were brought before the court by Barrister Moshood Adeyemi, Deputy Director from the Office of the Attorney General of the Federation. The two counts accuse the defendants of engaging in the illegal activities that violate the Criminal Code Act of 2004 and the Investment and Securities Act of 2007.
