The Economic and Financial Crimes Commission (EFCC) has obtained a court order to detain the Chief Executive Officer of Sujimoto Luxury Construction Limited, Mr. Sijibomi Ogundele, over an ongoing investigation into the alleged diversion of N5.7 billion meant for the construction of 22 Smart Green Schools in Enugu State.
According to The Guardian the remand order was issued by a magistrate court to enable investigators to conclude their inquiries into the matter.
It was gathered that both the personal bank accounts of Ogundele and those belonging to Sujimoto Luxury Construction Limited had earlier been frozen by the EFCC, alongside the seizure of his international passport.
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“He is expected to explain how he spent the N5.7 billion or refund the money,” an EFCC source stated.
The EFCC had earlier declared Ogundele wanted on allegations of money laundering and misappropriation of public funds.
In response, Ogundele took to social media platform X (formerly Twitter) to declare his innocence, describing the matter as a “misunderstanding” arising from a contractual agreement with the Enugu State Government.
“I am not a thief. I am not a fugitive,” Ogundele said in an emotional video. “This is a contract between me and the Enugu State Government.”
The real estate entrepreneur explained that his firm was initially commissioned by the state government to design a proposed 69-storey skyscraper, which would have been the tallest building in Nigeria, but was later redirected to construct model schools due to budget constraints.
“The governor told me, ‘You won’t make money from the schools, but you’ll make money from other projects.’ I was happy with that,” Ogundele stated, adding that he mobilized 42 engineers and temporarily relocated to Enugu, where he reportedly sustained an injury while supervising work.
However, the Enugu State Government, in a swift reaction, accused the Sujimoto CEO of abandoning the contract after collecting N5.76 billion, representing 50 percent mobilization fee, with an agreed six-month delivery timeline from February 2025.
“The Enugu State Government paid the sum of N5,762,565,475.25 to fast-track the projects across all sites. Rather than adhere to the terms of the contract, Mr. Ogundele resorted to substandard work and the use of quack engineers. None of the structures inspected met the required specifications,” the government alleged.
The state further accused Ogundele of evading all attempts at dialogue, skipping periodic project briefings, and ignoring official calls and messages.
“Worse still, he practically abandoned the sites, leaving the Enugu State Government with no other choice but to petition the EFCC to recover the funds,” the statement continued.
A joint inspection carried out by officials of the Ministry of Works and Infrastructure alongside EFCC operatives on May 8 and 9, 2025, reportedly revealed little to no progress across the 22 project sites one year after the contract was awarded.
“In some cases, he fraudulently failed to carry out excavation for all the blocks on site. The government has since taken over and re-awarded the contracts to other firms, who had to commence construction afresh,” the state government declared.
Officials noted that other contractors handling multiple Smart Green School projects were already delivering quality work within schedule, thereby confirming Sujimoto’s alleged non-performance.
