The Ilorin Zonal Directorate of the Economic and Financial Crimes Commission (EFCC) has arraigned a self-styled native doctor, Olorunbukunmi Taiwo, and his wife, Awolegan Omolola Omotola, over an alleged contract scam amounting to ₦1,098,961,500 (One Billion, Ninety-Eight Million, Nine Hundred and Sixty-One Thousand, Five Hundred Naira only).

The couple were arraigned before Justice Abubakar Usman of the Federal High Court sitting in Ado-Ekiti on a six-count charge bordering on obtaining money by false pretence and retention of proceeds of crime, contrary to Section 17(a) of the EFCC (Establishment) Act, 2004.

Taiwo and Omotola were arrested following a petition to the EFCC by a widow, Anazia Colina Kenechukwu, proprietor of a private school in Delta State. She alleged that the first defendant, Taiwo, approached her to finance a road construction contract purportedly awarded to him by the Delta State Oil Producing Areas Development Commission (DESOPADEC).

Kenechukwu further alleged that a total sum of ₦1,980,000,000 (One Billion, Nine Hundred and Eighty Million Naira only) was paid into Taiwo’s account domiciled with Access Bank Plc.

Investigations further revealed that the couple allegedly invested proceeds of the illicit activities in the acquisition of two properties in Ado-Ekiti, namely: Town Tavern Lounge, located at No. 1, Ikere Road, off Florence Court School, Ado-Ekiti, and a four-bedroom bungalow located on Florence Court, Irewolede Estate, Ado-Ekiti.

The Commission had, on Monday, May 25, 2026, secured the interim forfeiture of the two properties.

Count Two of the charge reads: “That you, Olorunbukunmi Taiwo and Awolegan Omolola Omotola, sometime between January 2024 and November 2025, in Ilorin, within the jurisdiction of this Honourable Court, with intent to defraud, obtained the sum of ₦1,098,961,500 (One Billion, Ninety-Eight Million, Nine Hundred and Sixty-One Thousand, Five Hundred Naira) from one Anazia Colina Kenechukwu, which was paid to you through Olorunbukunmi Taiwo’s account number 0027303340 domiciled with Access Bank Plc, by falsely representing that same would be used to execute a road construction contract awarded to you by the Delta State Oil Producing Areas Development Commission (DESOPADEC), a pretence you knew to be false, and you thereby committed an offence contrary to Section 1(1)(a) of the Advance Fee Fraud and Other Fraud Related Offences Act, 2006, and punishable under Section 1(3) of the same Act.”

The defendants pleaded not guilty when the charge was read to them.

Following their pleas, counsel to the EFCC, Sesan Ola, prayed the court to fix a date for trial and order the remand of the defendants.

Justice Usman adjourned the matter until Thursday, June 11, 2026, for hearing of the bail application and commencement of trial. The judge also ordered the remand of the defendants in the EFCC custody.

The Economic and Financial Crimes Commission (EFCC), on Monday, June 1, 2026, presented its fifth prosecution witness (PW5) in the trial of former Minister of Power, Olu Agunloye, before Justice Jude Onwuegbuzie of the Federal Capital Territory (FCT) High Court, Apo, Abuja.

The former minister is facing prosecution on an amended seven-count charge bordering on official corruption and the alleged fraudulent award of the Mambilla Power Project contract worth $6 billion to Sunrise Power Transmission Company Limited.

The witness, Iliya John Iyakwari, an Assistant Director of Legal in the Federal Ministry of Justice, currently serving in the Federal Ministry of Power as an Assistant Legal Adviser since August 2014, disclosed while being led in evidence by prosecution counsel, Abba Mohammed, SAN, that he certified the extract of the minutes of the Federal Executive Council (FEC) meeting of May 21, 2003, following a request from the EFCC.

He narrated that sometime in June 2023, the EFCC sent a letter to the Ministry of Power, addressed to the Permanent Secretary, requesting the extract of the FEC meeting held on May 21, 2003.

“The Permanent Secretary forwarded the letter to the Legal Services Department, requesting the information contained in the letter. The legal department then wrote to the department responsible for such records to provide the extract. They forwarded a copy of the said extract, after which my Legal Adviser directed me to certify the copy. I then forwarded the certified extract to the EFCC using our official letterhead,” he said.

He was shown the letter containing the EFCC’s request, marked Exhibit EFCC 3J, and the Ministry’s reply, marked Exhibit EFCC 3K, both of which he identified and confirmed as true copies.

Justice Onwuegbuzie adjourned the matter until June 8, 2026, for the cross-examination of the witness.

Dele Oyewale
Head, Media & Publicity

June 1, 2026

The Executive Chairman of the Economic and Financial Crimes Commission (EFCC), Mr. Ola Olukoyede, has charged the Chairman of the National Sports Commission (NSC), Shehu Dikko, on the need to observe regulatory compliance in the interest of sports development in the country.

He gave the charge in Abuja on Friday, May 29, as Dikko led the top management team of the NSC on a courtesy visit to him at the EFCC’s corporate headquarters.

“We always want to engage in the spirit of working together. As you would have known, the EFCC has had cause to investigate some of your predecessors, and some of the case files are still active. I think there is a need for us to work together. If there are things that we need to prevent, we have to prevent them before they lead to issues that would attract investigations,” he said.

According to Olukoyede, actualising this would involve the intervention of the EFCC’s Department of Fraud Risk Assessment and Control (FRAC), dedicated to fraud prevention in Ministries, Departments and Agencies (MDAs), particularly in the financial undertakings of the NSC.

“We now have a department called the Fraud Risk Assessment and Control, FRAC, basically set up for prevention purposes. That department will work with you so that we can establish a fraud risk compliance template for your Commission on areas you need to watch out for, especially in procurement, contract awards, and fund management.”

He regretted that grants, subventions, and monetary awards from international sporting organisations had been mismanaged by previous leaderships of the NSC and cautioned that such financial malpractices should be avoided going forward.

“In the past, some of the funds we earned from international bodies were mismanaged, and we would not want such to repeat itself anymore. Some of the contracts you have signed and Memoranda of Understanding (MoUs) would also be part of it, particularly for your new agency, the National Anti-Doping Agency,” he said.

Speaking further, he declared:

“We will look at those grey areas that land people into violating the financial laws of the country. Prevention is better than cure. People will want to hear that the EFCC is investigating the NSC. I think we should avoid that going forward. So, put it into consideration right from day one, so that we can work out a template for you and probably create a desk that can liaise with you. That way, we will be able to examine your structures, systems, and processes, help you redefine them, and see how we can come up with a risk assessment framework for you to run your operations free of suspicion.”

The EFCC boss, who disclosed that he had been closely following the activities of the Dikko-led management of the NSC, praised him for the positive changes he had introduced and their outcomes.

“I have seen changes. You have been changing the face of sports in Nigeria very drastically. Corporate bodies are now willing to come around to support and sponsor sporting activities in the country. We are monitoring the development.

“So, I welcome this collaboration. There is no doubt that you have taken sports from the realm of just being sports to that of a national asset—something that adds value to our economy. Now, we are seeing sports as something all of us can support. We are ready to work with you and create a desk that will liaise with you. I wish you more success,” he said.

In his remarks, Dikko stated that he was on a mission to seek collaboration with relevant agencies in driving his vision of the Renewed Hope Initiative for Sports.

“I am here because we want to clean the system for the first time. We are piloting an independent integrity board that is working to ensure that everything is done appropriately,” he said.

He regretted that, for many years, the country had been more concerned with merely participating in competitions and often returning home empty-handed “like tourists.”

“We have to be direct and intentional and create frameworks, make decisions, and build collaborations that can drive responsibility toward achieving desired results through sports, while also encouraging the private sector to play a role alongside the government in sports,” he said.

He described sports as a key sector capable of driving not only socio-economic development but also serving as a tool for economic advancement and national unity.

Dele Oyewale
Head, Media & Publicity
May 29, 2026