Justice Ismail Ijelu of the Lagos State High Court in Ikeja has granted a Fuji musician, Felix Duke Osagie, bail of N10 million over allegations that he fraudulently converted N21.25 million belonging to one Joseph Onu Oguche.
Justice Ijelu granted the musician bail on Thursday after hearing arguments from the prosecution and defence on his bail application.
The Economic and Financial Crimes Commission (EFCC) had arraigned Osagie on a four-count charge bordering on alleged stealing and obtaining money by false pretence.
One of the counts accused him of fraudulently converting N21,250,000 belonging to Oguche sometime in 2020.
The defendant, however, pleaded not guilty to all the charges.
Based on his plea, EFCC counsel, Lamido Ochuko, urged the court to remand him to a correctional facility and fix a date for the commencement of trial.
However, the defence counsel, Sunday Afolabi, urged the court to grant his client bail, informing it that an application dated November 4 and filed on November 5, 2026, was already before it.
The lawyer said the application was supported by an 18-paragraph affidavit deposed to by the defendant’s wife, who raised concerns about his deteriorating health.
The lawyer claimed that Osagie is diabetic and has become unable to walk due to his health condition, which he alleged worsened while the defendant was in EFCC custody.
Afolabi further told the court that his client had been in and out of hospital since his release from the commission’s custody, urging the judge to grant him bail on health grounds.
Opposing the application, EFCC counsel, Ochuko, told the court that the prosecution had filed a counter-affidavit dated November 10, 2026.
He urged Justice Ijelu to consider paragraph six of the counter-affidavit, which alleged that the defendant had jumped bail since July 2026.
The prosecution also informed the court that it intended to call four witnesses to establish its case against the musician.
After considering the submissions, Justice Ijelu admitted Osagie to bail in the sum of N10 million with two sureties in like sum.
The judge also directed that the sureties must be blood relatives of the defendant and must have paid taxes to the Lagos State Government within the last three years.
He further ordered that they provide evidence of verifiable sources of income.
Justice Ijelu also ordered the defendant to deposit his international passport with the court registrar and barred him from travelling outside Nigeria.
The court adjourned the case until December 16, 2026, for trial.
Osagie was, however, remanded in a correctional facility pending the fulfilment of his bail conditions.