The immediate past Managing Director of the Port Harcourt Refining Company Limited, Ahmed Dikko, has been granted bail in the sum of N150 million after being arraigned by the Economic and Financial Crimes Commission (EFCC) over an alleged N1.32 billion money laundering case.
Dikko appeared before the Federal High Court in Abuja on Wednesday alongside Masterpiece Projects & Investment Limited to answer a 12-count charge bordering on alleged money laundering and financial misconduct. He pleaded not guilty to all the charges.
According to the EFCC, the alleged offences are connected to funds linked to contractors involved in the rehabilitation of the Port Harcourt refinery. The anti-graft agency accused the former refinery chief of concealing and laundering over N1.32 billion through property acquisitions, transactions involving third parties, retention of funds in bank accounts and unauthorised foreign exchange dealings.
Among the allegations is that Dikko made a cash payment equivalent to N218.38 million in United States dollars for the purchase of a property in Katampe Extension, Abuja, without routing the transaction through a financial institution, contrary to the provisions of the Money Laundering (Prevention and Prohibition) Act, 2022.
The commission also alleged that he concealed the origin of more than N328.7 million paid into the account of Masterpiece Projects & Investment Limited. The funds were said to have originated from transactions involving the allocation of Vacuum Gas Oil for export by the Nigerian National Petroleum Company (NNPC) Limited.
In another count, the EFCC accused Dikko of converting a total of $77,080 between October 2022 and May 2025 through another individual, claiming the funds could not be traced to his legitimate earnings as a former public official.
Following his not guilty plea, defence counsel Okechukwu Ajunwa (SAN) asked the court to grant his client bail pending trial, while the prosecution opposed the request.
Justice Inyang Ekwo, however, admitted Dikko to bail on conditions that he provide one surety in the same amount, with the surety residing within the court’s jurisdiction and owning landed property valued at no less than N150 million.
The judge also ordered the former refinery boss to surrender his international passport and directed that he remain in EFCC custody until the bail conditions are fulfilled.
The case was adjourned until October 12, 13 and 14, 2026, when trial is expected to commence.
