The government of Enugu State has accused Olasijibomi Ogundele, Chief Executive Officer (CEO) of Sujimoto Luxury Construction Limited, of defrauding the state of N5.7 billion in a failed contract for the construction of 22 smart green schools.
The development comes as the Economic and Financial Crimes Commission (EFCC) on Friday declared the Lagos-based real estate developer wanted for alleged diversion of funds and money laundering.
The anti-graft agency, in a notice signed by its spokesperson, Dele Oyewale, urged anyone with useful information about Ogundele’s whereabouts to contact its offices nationwide or the nearest police station.
Hours after the notice went viral, a video surfaced online showing Ogundele in tears as he denied any wrongdoing. The entrepreneur claimed the allegations stemmed from a contract with the Enugu State government, which he undertook despite concerns over safety and pricing.
“I am not a thief and I am not a fugitive. This is a contract between me and the Enugu State government,” Ogundele said in the emotional video.
According to him, the contract involved multiple projects, including 22 smart schools and a proposed 69-storey building billed to be Nigeria’s tallest.
He said he mobilised 42 engineers across several local government areas in Enugu but was hampered by inflation, security challenges and unrealistic pricing.
“When we took the contract, cement was N7,000 per bag, but when we left, it was N10,000. Sometimes we were in the villages and my staff were being shot at,” he said. “Eventually, things went sour between myself and the government. If I had money, I would have continued with the project.”
Ogundele insisted that he remained on-site until the last day before the dispute escalated into litigation, adding: “I told the court that we don’t want to fight with the government. Now they have declared me wanted. They have destroyed the company we have built. But I am going to the EFCC office to clear my name.”
In a swift response, Enugu State Commissioner for Information, Malachy Agbo, dismissed Ogundele’s defence as “theatrics and crocodile tears,” accusing him of “premeditated fraud”.
Agbo said the government awarded the N11.4 billion contract to Sujimoto on July 2, 2024, with a six-month completion deadline, and paid N5.7 billion upfront to fast-track delivery ahead of the September 2025 school resumption.
“Rather than play to the rules of the contract to deliver quality projects for furnishing and equipping in line with the priority placed on the Smart Green Schools initiative by the government, Mr Ogundele resorted to shoddy jobs and the use of inexperienced workers and quack engineers,” Agbo said in a statement Friday night.
“None of his sites met the structural integrity of the projects as specified in the structural drawing. Worse still, he vanished into thin air with the money. All efforts made by the government to get him to a roundtable proved abortive.”
The commissioner further alleged that Ogundele presented a bond from Jaiz Bank to secure the contract but used a Zenith Bank account to receive payment, shielding Jaiz from liability.
Agbo disclosed that a joint inspection by state officials and EFCC operatives in May 2025 revealed “minimal to no significant work” on the 22 sites one year after the contract was awarded, with some sites yet to be excavated. He added that the government has since reassigned the projects to new contractors.
“Nigerians should disregard his theatrics and crocodile tears,” Agbo said. “The Enugu State government will surely recover every penny of Ndi Enugu obtained by Olasijibomi Ogundele.”
This is not Ogundele’s first brush with law enforcement. In October 2024, he was detained at the Force Criminal Investigation Department in Abuja after a petition by human rights lawyer Pelumi Olajengbesi, who accused him of obtaining $325,000 under false pretence from one Kabiru Ibrahim in November 2020 for a non-existent property.
Ogundele was later released after interrogation, but the case raised questions about his business dealings.
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