The Enugu State Government has provided details regarding allegations that Olasijibomi Ogundele, CEO of Sujimoto Luxury Construction Limited, defrauded the state of nearly N6 billion.
Describing the act as a “premeditated fraud,” the government stated that Ogundele disappeared after receiving funds intended for the construction of 22 Smart Green Schools across the state.
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In a statement released on Friday by Dr. Malachy Agbo, the Commissioner for Information and Communication, the government clarified that although Ogundele submitted a bond from Jaiz Bank to secure the contract, the payment was made into the company’s Zenith Bank account registered with the Ministry of Works and Infrastructure. This arrangement prevented the state from holding Jaiz Bank accountable.
Earlier reports from SaharaReporters indicated that the Economic and Financial Crimes Commission (EFCC) had declared Ogundele wanted on charges of fraud and money laundering.
In response, Ogundele appeared in a widely circulated video denying the accusations and pledging to cooperate with the anti-corruption agency.
The state government further explained, “For the avoidance of doubt, on July 2, 2024, the Enugu State Government awarded a contract in the sum of N11,457,930,950.52 to Sujimoto Luxury Construction Ltd for the construction of 22 Smart Schools (buildings only) in six months starting from the date of the acceptance of the award.
“The Enugu State Government paid the sum of N5,762,565,475.25, representing 50 per cent of the contract sum, in order to fast-track the projects at all the sites.
“Rather than play to the rules of the contract to deliver quality projects for furnishing and equipping ahead of September 2025 school resumption, 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. 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 to discuss the quality and progress of work proved abortive. He equally refused to attend the periodic projects briefing organised by the state government for all contractors or take numerous calls and messages put across to him.
“In fact, he practically abandoned the sites, leaving the Enugu State Government with no other choice than to petition the Economic and Financial Crimes Commission (EFCC) to recover the funds paid to him.
“A joint team of officers of the Enugu State Ministry of Works and Infrastructure and the EFCC visited the 22 sites to evaluate the progress of work on May 8 and 9, 2025, where it was clearly established that there had been minimal to no significant work done at the said sites one year after the contract award. In some cases, he fraudulently did not do excavation for all the blocks on site.
“It is also on record that he has not shown up at the sites or made himself available to either the state government or the law enforcement agencies even after those site visits.”
The government also revealed that during investigations, it was found that although Ogundele provided a bond from Jaiz Bank, he received the payment through Sujimoto Luxury Construction Limited’s Zenith Bank account number 1312731196 and withdrew the funds without applying them to the projects.
“This clearly shows a premeditated intent to defraud the state ab initio,” the statement added.
The government has since reclaimed the project sites and assigned them to new contractors, who have had to restart construction from the beginning. Significant progress has been made to ensure the Mbah Administration’s goal of transitioning Enugu children to Smart Green Schools by September remains on schedule.
“Nigerians should therefore disregard his theatrics and crocodile tears, as Enugu State Government is determined to and will surely recover every penny of Ndi Enugu fraudulently obtained by Mr. Olasijibomi Ogundele (Sujimoto).”