Operatives of the Zone 2 Command of the Nigeria Police Force have arraigned a man identified as Israel Onen before the Federal High Court in Lagos over his alleged involvement in a large-scale visa racketeering scheme amounting to ₦60 million.
Onen was brought before Justice Ibrahim Kala on Monday to answer to a four-count charge bordering on conspiracy, fraud, obtaining money under false pretence, money laundering, and stealing. The charges were filed by the police under suit number FHC/L/1203C/2025.
According to the prosecution, the defendant allegedly conspired with other individuals who are currently at large between 2024 and 2025 to defraud a complainant, Akinola Ayodele Emmanuel. The police told the court that Onen collected the sum of ₦60 million from the complainant on the pretext that he would facilitate the procurement of Irish and Schengen visas for the complainant’s clients.
The prosecution further stated that the promised visas were never obtained and that the money paid for the supposed services was not refunded. The alleged acts, the police said, violated relevant provisions of the Advance Fee Fraud and Other Fraud Related Offences Act, the Money Laundering (Prevention and Prohibition) Act, and the Criminal Code.
When the charges were read in open court, Onen pleaded not guilty to all counts. Following his plea, the prosecutor requested that the court set a date for trial and also applied for the defendant to be remanded in the custody of the Zone 2 Command, citing the existence of multiple complaints against him.
However, defence counsel, O. Ogu, opposed the application for remand and urged the court to grant his client bail. He informed the court that a formal bail application had already been filed and served on the prosecution and appealed to the judge to exercise his discretion by granting bail on liberal terms.
In his ruling, Justice Kala granted the defendant bail in the sum of ₦60 million with one surety in the same amount. The court specified that the surety must either be a civil servant not below Grade Level 13 or a landed property owner with verifiable property valued at ₦60 million.
The judge also directed that both the defendant and his surety submit two passport photographs each, along with their National Identification Numbers (NIN), Bank Verification Numbers (BVN), bank account details, and telephone numbers linked to their bank alerts. Justice Kala added that the court registrar and the prosecution would jointly verify compliance with the bail conditions.
The case was subsequently adjourned until February 12, 2026, for the commencement of trial. Pending the fulfillment of his bail conditions, the court ordered that Onen be remanded in the custody of the Zone 2 Police Command, Onikan, Lagos.
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