Operatives of the Economic and Financial Crimes Commission (EFCC) on Monday, September 8, grilled real estate mogul and CEO of Sujimoto Luxury Construction Limited, Sijibomi Ogundele, over allegations of diverting approximately N5.7 billion belonging to Enugu State.
Last Friday, September 5, the anti-graft agency declared Sujimoto wanted over accusations of money laundering and fund diversion—claims he has consistently denied.
In a statement released the same day, the Enugu State government confirmed it was behind Sujimoto’s legal troubles with the EFCC, accusing him of misappropriating funds allocated to his company for the construction of smart schools across the state.
The state alleged that Sujimoto had been evasive regarding the progress of the contract awarded to him and refused to return to the project sites, prompting a formal complaint to the EFCC.
After failing to respond to the EFCC’s invitation, he was declared wanted.
Sujimoto later released a video denying the theft allegations and pledged to cooperate with the agency.
A source within the EFCC, speaking to The Nation, confirmed that Ogundele complied with the invitation and was interrogated on Monday.
“The Chief Executive Officer of Sujimoto Luxury Construction Limited has surrendered to our commission and was immediately taken into custody. For over 10 hours, we questioned him based on the petition from the Enugu State Government.
“We have frozen all his accounts and those of his company pending the conclusion of the preliminary investigation. His passport has also been seized to restrict his movement outside the country,” the source said.
It remains unclear whether Ogundele was granted bail last night.
