Enugu govt accuses real estate developer Sujimoto of N5.7 billion fraud

The Enugu State Government has accused Olasijibomi Ogundele, Chief Executive Officer of Sujimoto Luxury Construction Limited, of defrauding the state of nearly N6 billion.

The money was meant for the construction of 22 Smart Green Schools across different parts of the state.

In a statement issued on Friday, Malachy Agbo, the Commissioner for Information and Communication described Ogundele’s actions as a “premeditated fraud”.

He alleged that Ogundele abandoned the projects after receiving 50 per cent of the contract sum and has since gone incommunicado.

Daily Times reported that The Economic and Financial Crimes Commission (EFCC) had earlier declared Ogundele wanted for alleged fraud and money laundering.

In a viral video, the developer denied wrongdoing and promised to present himself to the anti-graft agency.

“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,” Agbo said.

“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,” Agbo stated.

According to him, Ogundele “vanished into thin air with the money,” ignored calls to attend periodic project briefings, and refused to respond to multiple efforts by the government to resolve the issue.

The Commissioner added that a joint team from the Ministry of Works and Infrastructure and the Economic and Financial Crimes Commission (EFCC) inspected the sites on May 8 and 9, 2025.

“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,” he said.

Agbo further disclosed that Ogundele had presented a bond from Jaiz Bank to secure the contract but received the state’s payment through Sujimoto Luxury Construction Limited’s Zenith Bank account.

“This clearly shows a premeditated intent to defraud the state ab initio,” he said.

The Commissioner noted that the government has since reassigned the projects to new contractors who have commenced work afresh, assuring that Governor Peter Mbah’s administration remains committed to ensuring that the Smart Green Schools are ready by September.

“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),” Agbo added.