Business
Court Adjourns Alleged Theft Case Against Ex-Bank Chairman
A Federal High Court sitting in Ikeja last Thursday fixed April 17 for hearing of all pending applications in the trial of a former Chairman of Wema Bank Plc, Olapade Mohammed.
Mohammed is standing trial alongside Sanni Mohamed, a Director of AKS Steel Nigeria Ltd. for allegedly stealing N1.2 billion belonging to the company, where he was also chairman.
Reports said that the two accused persons were dragged by the Economic and Financial Crimes Commission (EFCC) before the court, presided over by Justice Steven Adah.
When the matter came up for hearing on Thursday, their lawyer, Mr Olabode Olanipekun, told the court that they have filed an application for a stay of proceedings.
Olanipekun said the application was served on the EFCC on March 1, adding that the defence had also filed an objection to the prosecution’s written address.
Responding, the EFCC lawyer, Mr Steve Odiase, noted that the accused persons have failed to appear before the court to answer the charges preferred against them.
Odiase, in an oral application, asked the court for an extension of time to enable the prosecution regularise its processes and file their written address properly.
Adah, therefore, adjourned the matter to April 17, but ordered the parties to ensure that all processes were duly filed and served before the next adjournment date.
The accused persons in the application filed on March 1 by Olanipekun, had urged the court to stay further proceedings of the charge preferred against them.
This is pending the hearing and determination of their appeal against the charge, filed before the Court of Appeal in Lagos.
The anti-graft agency had in the charge alleged that the duo stole N1.2 billion, whilst Muhammed was the company’s chairman.
It said the alleged offences were committed between January 1, 2006 and March 23, 2009 in Lagos.
The EFCC claimed that they also laundered various sums amounting to N297. 7 million belonging to the company by transferring it to Dubai and subsequently, India.
The charge said they did so “without a board resolution authorising the removal of the funds.”
The agency alleged that they “knew” the sums “represented the proceeds of crime, with the aim of concealing the illicit origin of the said money”.
The alleged stealing and conversion contravene Sections 390, 421, 422 and 516 of the Criminal Code, Laws of the Federation of Nigeria, 2004.
The laundering charges are contrary to Section 14 (1) of the Money Laundering (Prohibition) Act of 2004 and punishable under Section 14 and 17 of the Act.
Cornerstone of Financial Services
A survey of more than 1 000 global finance leaders undertaken by digital payment network Ripple shows that 72% of respondents believe they need to offer a digital asset solution to remain competitive.
According to Ripple, leaders from the banking, fintech, corporate and asset management sector have made it clear that the “digital asset revolution is happening now”.
“Digital assets are quickly becoming a cornerstone of financial services, underpinned by progressive regulation, growing interest from Tier-1 banks, a steady consumer shift from banks to fintech providers, and booming stablecoin adoption,” Ripple says.
The survey was conducted in early 2026 and the findings released in March.
Stablecoin Boon or Bane?
Ripple has experienced significant success in the stablecoin sector since launching its Ripple USD (RLUSD) stablecoin in 2024.
With a market cap of $1.56 billion, it is considered a major regulated player in the market.
No doubt the platform was pleased to learn through its own survey that financial leaders were most bullish about stablecoins.
Roughly three-quarters of respondents believed they could boost cash-flow efficiency and unlock trapped working capital.
Ripple noted that finance leaders were thinking about stablecoins as more than “just a new way to execute payments”; instead, they viewed them as effective tools for treasury management.
In March 2026, Ripple began testing a new trade finance model built around RLUSD in a bid to increase the speed of cross-border payments.
The pilot initiative, developed alongside supply chain finance company Unloq [https://unloq.com], is running on the XRP Ledger inside a testing framework developed by the Monetary Authority of Singapore.
The Asian city-state is one of the platform’s biggest growth markets.
The idea behind the project is to see whether stablecoin-based settlement can streamline trade finance, too often hampered by reliance on intermediaries and slow reconciliation.
The only potential drawback is that if the initiative takes off, the Ripple to USD price could be negatively affected.
Ripple has always championed its native XRP token as a bridge asset, the “middleman” in the process of a financial institution turning dollars in the US into pounds in the UK, for example.
Ripple converts dollars into XRP and then back into pounds.
If RLUSD can do exactly the same thing, questions will be asked about XRP’s relevance.
That is a bridge Ripple will have to cross if it gets to that point.
Tokenisation Partners
Another interesting finding from Ripple’s survey is that most banks and asset managers are seeking tokenisation partners to help execute their strategies.
Some 89% of respondents said digital asset storage and custody were top priority. “Token servicing/lifecycle management also ranks highly for banks at 82%, while asset managers place greater emphasis on primary distribution at 80%,” Ripple found.
The survey also revealed that just more than half of fintechs and financial institutions want an infrastructure provider that can offer a “one-stop-shop solution”. This rose to 71% among corporate financial leaders.
Ripple attributes this to institutions and firms wanting uncomplicated, cohesive systems.
Infrastructure Rules
In its final analysis, Ripple says companies across the board are looking for partners and solutions that are “secure, compliant, battle-tested and that enable growth and execution”.
“The message is clear: infrastructure decisions made today will shape competitive positioning tomorrow.”
No surprise that this is precisely where Ripple is placing much of its focus.
