The Economic and Financial Crimes Commission, EFCC, has obtained a court order to detain Sijibomi Ogundele, Chief Executive Officer of Sujimoto Luxury Construction Limited, over an alleged N5.7 billion unexecuted contract.
Ogundele is currently in EFCC custody and under investigation for reportedly failing to deliver 22 Smart Green School projects in Enugu State, despite allegedly receiving a 50 percent mobilization fee amounting to N5.7 billion from the state government.
According to EFCC sources, the detention order was granted by a Magistrate Court to allow the Commission complete its investigation. The anti-graft agency had earlier frozen Ogundele’s personal and company accounts and seized his international passport.
“He is expected to explain how he spent the N5.7 billion or refund the money. His case looks straightforward,” an EFCC source stated, adding that the Commission holds evidence of payment, contract terms, and documents showing non-compliance.
The EFCC had declared Ogundele wanted penultimate Friday for alleged money laundering. In response, he accused the Enugu State Government of being behind the probe, claiming the contract was underpriced and inflation hindered progress.
However, the Enugu State Government countered his claims, alleging that Ogundele abandoned the projects after receiving the mobilization fee. In a detailed statement, the government accused him of resorting to shoddy jobs, using quack engineers, and evading all attempts to resolve the matter.
“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, Mr. Ogundele resorted to shoddy jobs and the use of inexperienced workers and quack engineers… Worse still, he vanished into thin air with the money,” part of the statement read.
The government added that inspections carried out with EFCC officials in May 2025 revealed that most sites were at foundation level, with little to no progress recorded one year after contract award. The projects have since been reassigned to new contractors, with several of them reportedly near completion.
Other contractors handling similar Smart Green School projects, such as Ever Progressive Integrated Resources Venture, testified to having completed multiple schools within the stipulated timeline, underscoring the state government’s position that Sujimoto failed to deliver.