Publisher and owner of ThisDay and AriseTV, Nduka Obaigbena, has reportedly fled to the United Kingdom amidst a $225 million loan scam tied to his company, General Hydrocarbon Limited (GHL). This development comes as security operatives and the Economic and Financial Crimes Commission (EFCC) intensify their investigation into the matter.
The alleged scam involves a loan secured from First Bank of Nigeria Plc. Obaigbena’s decision to leave the country coincides with the EFCC filing a 13-count criminal charge against Honeywell Group Chairman Chief Oba Otudeko and former First Bank Managing Director Olabisi Onasanya over a related N12.3 billion loan fraud.
This is not Obaigbena’s first time seeking refuge abroad to evade prosecution. During late General Sani Abacha’s regime, he went into exile, only returning after the dictator’s death. Similarly, he left Nigeria during former President Olusegun Obasanjo’s administration, returning during late President Musa Yar’Adua’s tenure.
In 2015, after former President Goodluck Jonathan lost to Muhammadu Buhari, Obaigbena fled the country again following revelations that his company, GHL, collected N670 million from ex-NSA Sambo Dasuki. The funds were allegedly diverted from money meant to combat Boko Haram. He only returned after negotiating with Buhari’s government.
Most recently, after President Bola Tinubu’s election, Obaigbena reportedly left for the UK over fears of persecution following his involvement in the failed presidential ambitions of former Central Bank Governor Godwin Emefiele.
Sources suggest the ThisDay publisher has no immediate plans to return to Nigeria, preferring to remain in self-exile in the UK while the legal heat around the $225 million scandal intensifies.
