Daphne Dafinone, an ally of the Governor of the Central Bank of Nigeria, CBN, Olayemi Cardoso is facing prosecution over an alleged N100 million fraud.
Dafinone who is also a board member of the Nigerian Incentive-Based Risk Sharing System for Agricultural Lending, NIRSAL, is said to have defrauded a developer of the said sum.
Justice Ibrahim Kala of the Federal High Court in Lagos has ordered Dafinone to appear before the court on May 5 to take her plea in the fraud case filed against her and her company by the Police.
The charges stem from a petition by Prince Lukman Adeleke, a property developer, who claimed that between April and December 2019, Dafinone and others conspired to defraud him of N100 million.
According to the petition, Adeleke’s company, Lukman Communications Limited, had been negotiating the purchase of a property at 93 Broad Street, Lagos Island, from Dafinone’s company, CEDDI Corporation Limited.
Despite receiving N100 million for the property, Daphne Dafinone allegedly sold it to another buyer, Mrs. Ganiyat Ulom.
When Adeleke discovered the sale, he instructed his lawyers to issue a memorandum of claim to CEDDI Corporation Limited and Mrs. Ulom. However, both parties allegedly ignored the notice, prompting Adeleke to file a lawsuit in the Lagos State High Court.
At a previous hearing, Dafinone’s former lawyer, Dapo Akinosun (SAN), informed the court that she was in London for medical treatment, assuring that she would return to Nigeria on January 28, 2025, and be available for arraignment.
However, at the resumed hearing, Fidel Albert appeared as her new defense counsel.
The prosecution, represented by Superintendent of Police (SP) Anthony Iyeye, requested the court to issue a bench warrant for Dafinone’s arrest due to her absence.
In response, Albert informed the court that he had filed an application challenging the competence of the charge and the court’s jurisdiction.
Justice Kala allowed arguments on the submissions but ruled that Dafinone must appear in court before any application could be entertained.
The judge dismissed the preliminary objection and adjourned the case to May 5, 2025, emphasizing that Dafinone must be present for her arraignment.
Her alleged link with CBN governor, Cardoso
A recent report by Premium Times revealed that Daphne Dafinone has been illegally hired by the CBN governor, Olayemi Cardoso as a consultant.
The newspaper reported that Dafinone’s consultancy role is not clearly defined; she merely takes on any responsibility assigned to her by Mr Cardoso.
The publication noted that only recently, the governor tasked her with designing and implementing a controversial early exit programme to pay off at least 1,000 staff members into voluntary retirements. Mr Cardoso tapped her for this role while bypassing the bank’s human resources department, which is statutorily charged with developing and administering human capital management policies, functions and processes.
The CBN governor was also accused of paying Ms Dafinone N35 million monthly, an enumeration said to be higher than the combined salaries of 10 directors in the apex bank
