LAGOS, Nigeria — A Federal High Court sitting in Ikoyi, Lagos, has reserved its ruling on the bail application filed by controversial social media influencer and self-styled relationship therapist, Okoro Blessing Nkiruka, popularly known as Blessing CEO, who is facing a ₦36 million fraud trial.
Presiding Judge, Justice D.I. Dipeolu, adjourned the matter on Friday, June 5, 2026, announcing that the court will deliver its decision regarding her temporary release on Tuesday, June 9, 2026.
Okay News reports that the defendant faces a two-count criminal charge brought against her by the Lagos Zonal Directorate 1 of the Economic and Financial Crimes Commission (EFCC), bordering on obtaining money under false pretenses and stealing. The anti-graft agency alleges that between July 14 and July 17, 2024, the influencer fraudulently collected ₦36 million from a petitioner, Mrs. Ifeyinwa Nonye Okoye, under the pretense of securing a lease for a luxury six-bedroom detached duplex located at No. 1B, Tunbosun Osobu Street, Lekki, Lagos—a property prosecutors assert she did not own.
During the highly anticipated Friday proceedings, defense counsel P.I. Nwafuru moved the bail application, passionately pleading with the court to grant his client bail on the most liberal terms possible. However, prosecution counsel S.I. Suleiman vehemently opposed the application, presenting a robust 28-paragraph counter-affidavit deposed to by the chief investigating officer, Bufa Regina Okangbe. Suleiman informed the court that the defendant had actively evaded justice during the preliminary stages of the inquiry. “At some point during the course of the investigation, the defendant stopped honoring invitations extended to her by the Commission,” Suleiman submitted, urging the court to deny bail and instead order an accelerated hearing of the substantive case.
Before the bail arguments, the prosecution called its first star witness, Investigator Bufa Regina Okangbe, to map out the financial transaction trail. Okangbe testified that a Bank Verification Number (BVN) search linked several accounts to the influencer, revealing that the petitioner transferred ₦25 million into Blessing CEO’s GTBank account and an additional ₦11 million into her Access Bank account for the Lekki property. Subsequent bank analysis showed the funds were rapidly dispersed, including an ₦8 million transfer to the actual property owners, Mr. and Mrs. Tunbosun Osobu, and ₦1.9 million to a luxury business, “Beauty City by Lekki.”
Okangbe further testified that a formal verification query sent to the Lagos State Land Bureau confirmed the property belonged exclusively to Mr. Osobu, who upon being summoned by the EFCC, stated he had only leased the building to the defendant and that her initial lease had expired before a subsequent renewal in 2025. Overriding defense objections, Justice Dipeolu admitted several critical documents into evidence as exhibits, including the original petition dated February 18, 2025, and various statements made under caution by the defendant. Blessing CEO, who pleaded not guilty upon her initial arraignment on May 15, 2026, has been returned to EFCC custody pending Tuesday’s bail determination.
