EFCC arraigns musician Felix Duke over alleged N21.2m fraud

The Economic and Financial Crimes Commission (EFCC) on Thursday arraigned a musician, Felix Duke Osagie, popularly known as Felix Duke, before the Lagos State High Court sitting in Ikeja over an alleged N21.25 million fraud. Duke was arraigned by the EFCC’s Lagos Zonal Directorate 2 before Justice Ismail O. Ijelu on a four-count charge bordering on stealing, obtaining money by false pretence, retention of proceeds of crime and giving false information.

The commission disclosed this in a post on its X account on Thursday, November 12, 2026. One of the charges alleged that the defendant, sometime in 2020, stole and converted to his personal use the sum of N21.25 million belonging to one Mr Joseph Onuh Oguche. The charge reads: “That you, FELIX DUKE OSAGIE, sometime in 2020, within the jurisdiction of this Honourable Court, with a dishonest intent, stole and converted for your own use the sum of N21,250,000 (Twenty-One Million, Two Hundred and Fifty Thousand Naira), property of one Mr.

Joseph Onuh Oguche, thereby committing an offence of stealing contrary to Section 280 and punishable under Section 287 of Criminal Laws of Lagos 2015.” Another count alleged that on April 2, 2026, the defendant made a false statement to EFCC investigators about the existence of a parcel of land at Ise, Ibeju-Lekki, Lagos, which he claimed he had the authority to sell.

The alleged offence is said to be contrary to Section 39 of the Economic and Financial Crimes Commission (Establishment) Act, 2004. Duke pleaded not guilty to all the charges when they were read to him. Following his plea, prosecution counsel, Abdulhamid Lamido Tukur, asked the court to fix a date for trial and remand the defendant in a correctional centre.

However, defence counsel, Sunday Afolabi, informed the court that a bail application dated November 4 and filed on November 5, 2026, was pending. He said the application was supported by an 18-paragraph affidavit deposed to by the defendant’s wife and urged the court to grant his client bail on liberal terms or on self-recognisance. Responding, Tukur told the court that the prosecution had filed a 14-paragraph counter-affidavit dated November 10, 2026, opposing the bail application.

He urged the court to consider paragraph six of the counter-affidavit, which alleged that the defendant had jumped the EFCC’s administrative bail since July 2026. The prosecution also accused the defendant of pursuing a fundamental rights enforcement suit in another court through his counsel. Tukur said: “We filed a 14-paragraph counter-affidavit, urging the court to reject the bail application.

“The defendant had jumped EFCC’s administrative bail since July. “Also, the defendant has been carrying on with his fundamental rights enforcement suit in another court through his legal counsel.” The prosecution counsel further informed the court that it intended to call four witnesses during the trial. In his ruling, Justice Ijelu granted the defendant bail in the sum of N10 million, with two sureties in like sum.

The judge directed that one of the sureties must be a blood relative of the defendant, while both sureties must reside in Lagos State, have paid taxes to the state government within the last three years and provide evidence of verifiable sources of income. Justice Ijelu also ordered the defendant to surrender his international passport to the registrar of the court and barred him from travelling outside Nigeria pending the conclusion of the case.

The court adjourned the matter until December 16, 2026, for commencement of trial and ordered that the defendant be remanded in a correctional facility pending the perfection of his bail conditions.