The trial of Director of Mechanical Services at the Nigerian Railway Corporation (NRC), Oche Jerry Ogbole-Inalegwu, took a dramatic turn on Thursday, April 23, 2026, as a prosecution witness revealed how ₦268,503,653 was funneled into his account by multiple contractors linked to NRC projects.
Testifying before Justice Mojisola Dada at the Special Offences Court in Ikeja, Lagos, the First Prosecution Witness (PW1), who heads the Compliance Unit of Access Bank Plc, told the court that the payments were traced to various individuals and companies, including China Civil Engineering Construction Company (CCECC), Abads Ventures Limited, Waliki Nig. Limited, and several others.
Ogbole-Inalegwu is standing trial on a nine-count charge bordering on an alleged ₦395,190,600 fraud following his arraignment on February 25, 2026.
One of the charges reads: “That you Oche Jerry Ogbole-Inalegwu while serving as the Railway District Manager, Nigerian Railway Corporation and transacting under the name of Altech Engineering Services, between 12th February, 2019 and 29th October, 2019 in Lagos within the jurisdiction of this Honorable Court, committed an offence, to wit; corruption by receiving the cumulative sum of Eleven Million, Three Hundred and Ninety Seven Thousand, Five Hundred Naira (N11,397,500.00) from China Civil Engineering Construction Company (CCECC), a contractor of the Nigerian Railway Corporation through the bank account of Altech Engineering Services domiciled in Access Bank Plc with account number: 0018021498, on account of the contracts awarded to CCECC during the discharge of your official duties”.
The witness, led in evidence by prosecution counsel Abba Mohammed, SAN, detailed that the inflows into the defendant’s account came from contractors such as Lovcom Associate, Naophil Enterprises, Benches Nig. Limited, Goa Multilink, Sorchi Marble, KC Services Nig. Limited, and others, with transactions spanning from February 12, 2019 to October 8, 2025.
Under cross-examination, defence counsel Modechi Adejoh questioned the witness on how banks interpret transaction narratives and identify parties involved. The witness maintained that banks operate varying narration formats when processing transactions.
After hearing the testimony, Justice Dada adjourned the matter to June 4, 2026, for continuation of trial.
