Officers of the Zone 2 Command of the Nigeria Police Force on Monday arraigned a man, Israel Onen, before the Federal High Court in Lagos over an alleged visa racketeering scheme involving N60 million.

Onen appeared before Justice Ibrahim Kala facing four counts, including conspiracy, obtaining money by false pretence, money laundering, fraud, and stealing, as outlined in charge number FHC/L/1203C/2025.

During the arraignment, the prosecutor told the court that Onen, in collusion with others now at large, between 2024 and 2025, defrauded the complainant, Akinola Ayodele Emmanuel.

He alleged that Onen “fraudulently obtained N60 million under the pretext of securing Ireland and Schengen visas” for the complainant’s clients. “The visas were never procured, and the money was not returned,” the prosecutor added.

The police noted that the defendant’s actions violated the Advance Fee Fraud and Other Fraud Related Offences Act, the Money Laundering (Prevention and Prohibition) Act, and the Criminal Code.

Onen pleaded not guilty when the charges were read to him.

Following the plea, the prosecutor requested a trial date and urged that Onen be remanded in police custody, citing multiple complaints against him.

However, defence counsel O. Ogu opposed the application and asked the court to grant bail, stating that a bail application had been filed and served on the prosecution.

Justice Kala granted Onen bail of N60 million with one surety of like sum. The judge stipulated that the surety must either be a civil servant of at least Grade Level 13 or a landed property owner with assets valued at N60 million.

Additionally, the court directed that the defendant and his surety submit two passport photographs each, their National Identification Numbers, Bank Verification Numbers, bank account details, and phone numbers used for receiving alerts. “The court registrar and the prosecutor are to verify compliance with the bail conditions,” the judge ruled.

The case was adjourned to February 12, 2026, for trial, with the defendant remanded in the custody of the Zone 2 Command, Onikan, pending the perfection of his bail conditions.