The Federal Capital Territory (FCT) High Court sitting in Jabi, Abuja, has dismissed an application by the international fraud suspect and Chief Executive Officer of Afriq Arbitrage System (AAS), Jesam Michael, seeking to set aside an earlier judgment entered against him in a suit filed by 276 investors.
Justice A.A. Fashola delivered the ruling on Wednesday in Suit No. CV/49/88/2024, Michael Oko & 275 Others v. Jesam Michael & Another.
The claimants were represented by Anselm Opara, while there was no legal representation for the defendants when the matter came up for ruling.
The court first considered a preliminary objection filed by the claimants/respondents and held that it constituted an abuse of court process. The objection was accordingly dismissed.
The court then proceeded to determine the defendants’ motion on notice, dated July 18, 2025, and filed on July 24, 2025, in which they sought to set aside the earlier judgment.
It also considered the counter-affidavit filed by the claimants on August 14, 2025.
In its ruling, the court held that the judgment sought to be set aside was entered under the Undefended List Procedure, adding that such a judgment is one delivered on the merits and cannot be set aside by the trial court except through an appeal.
Justice Fashola further held that a judgment entered under the Undefended List Procedure cannot be set aside merely on the ground of default.
On the defendants’ contention that the judgment was a nullity, the court ruled that they failed to establish the grounds relied upon in their application.
Specifically, the court found that the defendants failed to prove that their constitutional right to a fair hearing had been breached, that the originating court processes were not served on the first and second defendants, or that they were not served with the relevant hearing notices and other processes relied upon in the application.
Having found that the defendants failed to substantiate their claims, the court held that the application lacked merit and dismissed it in its entirety.
Reacting to the ruling, one of the claimants said, “We won our case in court against Jesam Michael.”
Human rights lawyer Maxwell Opara represents some of the investors in the matter.
The latest court victory for the claimants comes more than two years after an altercation involving Jesam Michael and lawyer Maxwell Opara at the premises of the Federal High Court in Abuja.
In May 2024, Opara was assaulted shortly after the adjournment of a Federal High Court case in which Michael was the nominal complainant.
The case arose from a petition Michael submitted to the Inspector-General of Police (IGP), accusing Humble Prince Eta, Donald Michael, Fifeyin Awajumo and Michael Okoh of cyberbullying.
Michael had alleged that the four individuals circulated messages about him on Facebook and WhatsApp bearing the caption: “Jesam Michael Refund Back our Money.”
Following the court proceedings, Opara stopped to address journalists. However, moments into the briefing, Michael interrupted him, after which a man standing behind Michael allegedly attacked the lawyer.
A video of the incident showed Opara speaking about individuals he described as victims of an alleged cybercrime linked to investments.
Referring to those standing with him, Opara said they were “some of the victims of the cybercrime,” adding that they were among those who invested more than $100,000 in what he described as a “Ponzi scheme.”
“We are talking of over a $100,000, where someone used a particular platform to dupe Nigerians,” Opara said before the briefing was disrupted.
As the confrontation unfolded, Opara repeatedly urged journalists to continue filming, shouting, “Cover him!”
The situation was eventually brought under control, after which Michael and Opara separately addressed journalists.
Jesam Michael is also facing a separate criminal trial instituted by the Economic and Financial Crimes Commission (EFCC).
He is standing trial on a seven-count charge bordering on obtaining money under false pretences and operating an investment company without the requisite licence.
The charges relate to the operations of Afriq Arbitrage System (AAS), an investment platform that has attracted complaints from numerous investors.
In April, several alleged victims of the AAS investment platform testified before the Federal High Court in Abuja, recounting how they claimed to have lost millions of dollars through the digital investment scheme promoted by AAS founder, Michael.
The witnesses gave their testimonies before Justice Obiora Egwuatu during the ongoing trial in which the EFCC is prosecuting Michael on charges bordering on alleged investment fraud.
Led in evidence by the prosecution counsel, Ekele Iheanacho, SAN, Prosecution Witnesses 12 to 16 narrated how they allegedly suffered devastating financial losses after investing in the platform.
One of the witnesses, Okoye Eugene, a welder identified as PW12, told the court that he was introduced to AAS after previously losing money in another failed investment platform, COTPS.
According to him, Michael convinced investors through social media and Telegram groups that their funds were securely held in a Binance liquidity pool and could not be accessed without authorisation.
Eugene said Michael also shared personal family photographs to build confidence among investors.
“These gave me confidence,” he told the court, adding that he invested more than $82,000 on behalf of himself, friends and family members.
He said the platform collapsed in April 2023 after Michael attributed the problem to a “system glitch” before later alleging that an individual identified as Abayomi had stolen $87 million from the platform’s “interest pool.”
Despite repeated assurances that investors’ capital remained safe and could be withdrawn on request, Eugene said neither his capital nor any returns had been refunded.
Another witness, Salihu Z. Ibrahim, a kitchenware trader from Auchi, Edo State, testified that he was similarly assured that his investments were secure.
According to him, the situation deteriorated when investors began demanding refunds.
“We were removed from the Telegram group, threatened, and some people were even arrested,” he said, adding that figures displayed on the investment platform suddenly appeared to have been manipulated.
Another witness, Johnson Veronica (PW14), gave an emotional account of how she sold her vehicles and properties to invest about $80,000 in AAS.
“Since the day I invested, my life has never remained the same,” she told the court, adding that the financial loss contributed to the collapse of her marriage.
She also questioned Michael’s explanation that a biometric security breach enabled the alleged theft of investors’ funds, noting that he had previously insisted the platform was impenetrable, even to himself.
PW15, Ayam Sebastian Chinwendu, a civil servant, told the court that she obtained loans to invest more than $3,000 in AAS, as well as in an additional token later introduced by Michael. She said she has been unable to recover any of the money.
Similarly, PW16, Okonkwo Leonard Emeka, testified that he invested more than $37,000 in AAS and its associated token after being introduced to the platform by his sister.
“I have put in all I have into this and convinced others to invest, and now this is costing me my family,” he said.
“I don’t want the return on investment anymore. I just want my capital back so I can take care of my family.”
He also questioned the credibility of Michael’s claims, telling the court that while investors were denied access to their funds, Michael allegedly continued to display wealth, including luxury vehicles and expensive properties.
All the witnesses told the court that the AAS platform was no longer accessible and expressed doubts that investors’ funds were ever deployed for the arbitrage trading activities the platform had claimed to conduct.
During the proceedings, the prosecution tendered screenshots of investors’ dashboards and other records from the platform, which were admitted in evidence by the court.
