$2.2m Fraud: Court Convicts Ex-NHIS Boss, Femi Thomas, BDC Operator

Justice Ayokunle Faji of the Federal High Court in Ikoyi, Lagos, on Thursday, July 24, 2025, convicted Dr. Olufemi Martins Thomas, a former Executive Secretary of the National Health Insurance Scheme (NHIS), and a Bureau De Change (BDC) operator, Kabiru Sidi, over a $2,198,900 (Two Million, One Hundred and Ninety-Eight Thousand, Nine Hundred Dollars) money laundering case.

Thomas and Sidi were arraigned by the Lagos Zonal Directorate 1 of the Economic and Financial Crimes Commission (EFCC) on an amended seven-count charge bordering on money laundering. While Thomas faced six counts, Sidi was charged solely with making false statements to EFCC officials.

One of the counts against Thomas read:
“That you, Dr. Martins Oluwafemi Thomas (a.k.a Dr. Ike), former Executive Secretary of NHIS, on or about July 3, 2015, in Lagos, procured Mrs. Femi Thomas to disguise the unlawful origin of the sum of $2,198,900, thereby committing an offence contrary to Section 18 and punishable under Section 15(2)(a) and (3) of the Money Laundering (Prohibition) Act, 2011 (as amended by Act No. 1 of 2012).”

Sidi, on his part, was charged with making a false statement to EFCC operative Afeez Mustapha on July 15, 2015, claiming to have given over $2 million to one Bamidele Ibiteye — an act contrary to Section 39(2)(b) and punishable under Section 39(2)(c) of the EFCC Establishment Act, 2004.

Both defendants pleaded not guilty, prompting a full trial.

At the last hearing on May 29, 2025, prosecution counsel, Ekele Iheanacho (SAN), in his final written address, stated that the prosecution had called six witnesses and that a no-case submission filed by the defendants had been overruled by the appellate court, affirming a prima facie case had been established.

He argued that Thomas failed to adequately justify the source of the funds, merely claiming they were proceeds from farming activities. Iheanacho stressed that under the Money Laundering Act, large transactions must pass through financial institutions to ensure traceability and transparency.

Delivering judgment, Justice Faji found Thomas guilty of violating cash transaction limits without passing through a financial institution. He was sentenced to a fine of ?10 million.

Sidi was convicted for making a false statement to an EFCC investigator and sentenced to a fine of ?100,000.

However, Justice Faji discharged Thomas on counts one, two, three, four, and seven of the charge.