Economic and Financial Crimes Commission (EFCC) on Monday questioned the chief executive officer of Sujimoto Luxury Construction Limited, Olasijibomi Ogundele, in Abuja over alleged diversion of N5.7 billion belonging to the Enugu State Government.
Mr Ogundele, who was declared wanted last week, surrendered to the commission and was taken into custody.
A source in the EFCC said, “The chief executive officer of Sujimoto Luxury Construction Limited has surrendered to our commission and we immediately took him into custody. For more than 10 hours, we have been questioning him based on the petition of the Enugu State Government. We have frozen all his accounts and that of his company pending the conclusion of the preliminary investigation. We will also seize his passport to restrict his movement to the country. We are still interrogating him, we are yet to admit him to bail.”
The head of media and publicity of the EFCC, Dele Oyewale, also confirmed that investigators were still questioning him.
The matter stems from a contract awarded to Ogundele’s firm by the Enugu State Government reportedly worth N11 billion.
The government approved the release of N5.7 billion, representing 50 percent of the contract sum, but later alleged that the value of work done was about N750 million.
The state government claimed Ogundele abandoned the project sites and refused to return to site despite repeated calls, leading to its petition to the EFCC.
Officials of the EFCC and the state government earlier inspected the sites before Ogundele turned himself in.
Reacting in a video shared online, Ogundele denied any wrongdoing.
He said, “I’m not a thief, I’m not a fugitive. This is a contract between my company and the Enugu State Government. The Enugu State Government asked me to help them build a couple of things, which was very interesting. I was going to the state every week.”
He described the matter as a contractual dispute rather than a criminal case and vowed to clear his name.
In November 2024, Olasijibomi Ogundele faced a similar allegation when a client accused him of failing to deliver a property after receiving $325,000.
He denied the allegation, blaming the naira’s depreciation and increased construction costs for delays.
