The Chief Executive Officer of Sujimoto Luxury Construction Limited, Sijibomi Ogundele, was grilled for several hours on Monday at the Abuja headquarters of the Economic and Financial Crimes Commission (EFCC), answering questions over an alleged diversion of N5.7 billion released by the Enugu State Government.
Ogundele, who turned himself in after previously being declared wanted, was still being interrogated as of 8 p.m., raising the possibility of detention. His personal and company accounts have been frozen while preliminary investigations continue.
According to findings, Sujimoto was awarded an over N11 billion contract by the state government. Although the initial approval was for a 30 percent advance payment, Ogundele reportedly appealed for 50 percent to enable early completion. The state eventually released N5.7 billion — half of the contract sum — based on his assurances of timely delivery.
However, government officials later alleged that the work done at the site was worth only about N750 million. They further claimed that Ogundele had since abandoned the project, prompting a petition to the EFCC.
Before his eventual appearance, EFCC investigators and Enugu State officials inspected the site. A source within the anti-graft agency confirmed: “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 preliminary investigation. We will also seize his passport to restrict his movement to the country.”
The source added that Ogundele had not yet been admitted to bail. EFCC spokesperson, Dele Oyewale, also confirmed: “Our investigators were still grilling him.”
Meanwhile, Ogundele has maintained his innocence. In an emotional video shared online, he insisted that the issue stemmed from a contractual disagreement rather than fraud. “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 said tearfully.
(NATION)
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