The detention of Mr. Sijibomi Ogundele, Chief Executive Officer of Sujimoto Luxury Construction Limited, has sparked controversy after he voluntarily appeared at the Economic and Financial Crimes Commission’s Enugu zonal office on September 8 to address his company’s contractual dispute with the Enugu State Government.
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Ogundele, who has been locked in a legal battle with the state since June over a smart school project, was declared wanted by the EFCC before turning himself in earlier this week. His arrest is linked to allegations of diverting N5.7 billion released as part payment for the N11 billion contract.
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Sources revealed that Ogundele has remained in custody under strict conditions, with complaints of being denied proper access to food, water, and legal counsel. Tensions escalated on September 10 when his lawyers visited him, but attempts to discuss his treatment were reportedly cut short by EFCC officials, leading to protests from his legal team.
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The dispute traces back to an agreement in which the Enugu State Government awarded Sujimoto a contract valued at N11 billion. Although the state initially approved a 30 percent advance, Ogundele was said to have requested and secured 50 percent — amounting to N5.7 billion — to speed up delivery. Officials later accused him of abandoning the project after executing work worth an estimated N750 million.
The EFCC has since frozen Ogundele’s bank accounts, seized his passport, and questioned him for over 10 hours at its Abuja headquarters. Investigators say his continued detention is tied to a petition filed by the Enugu State Government.
Ogundele, however, maintains that the matter is a civil dispute and not a criminal case. In a video posted online before his detention, he insisted that he was neither a thief nor a fugitive, stressing that the disagreement stemmed from contractual terms rather than fraud.
The EFCC has confirmed that its investigators are still interrogating the luxury real estate developer while the case unfolds.
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