The Economic and Financial Crimes Commission (EFCC) has arraigned the former Managing Director of the Port Harcourt Refining Company Limited (PHRC), Ahmed Adamu Dikko, before the Federal High Court in Abuja over an alleged ₦1.32 billion money laundering scheme.
Dikko was arraigned alongside Masterpiece Projects & Investment Limited on a 12-count charge bordering on money laundering.
According to the EFCC, the defendants allegedly laundered about ₦1.32 billion linked to contractors engaged by the Nigerian National Petroleum Company Limited (NNPCL) for the rehabilitation of the Port Harcourt Refinery.
The anti-graft agency alleged that the funds were concealed through cash property purchases, undisclosed bank retentions, third-party transactions and unauthorised currency conversions, contrary to the Money Laundering (Prevention and Prohibition) Act, 2022.
The defendants pleaded not guilty to all charges.
Following their plea, defence counsel Okechukwu Ajunwa (SAN) applied for bail, while the prosecution opposed the request.
Justice Inyang Ekwo granted Dikko bail in the sum of ₦150 million with one surety in like amount. The court ruled that the surety must reside within the Federal Capital Territory (FCT) and possess landed property valued at not less than the bail amount.
Pending the fulfilment of the bail conditions, the court ordered that Dikko be remanded in the custody of the EFCC.
The case was adjourned to October 12, 13 and 14, 2026, for trial.
The charges form part of the EFCC’s broader investigation into the alleged diversion of funds earmarked for the turnaround maintenance and rehabilitation of Nigeria’s state-owned refineries.
