Alleged N5.7bn Fraud: Sijibomi Ogundele Breaks Silence, Defends Integrity Amid Enugu School Project Controversy

The storm surrounding Sijibomi Ogundele, the flamboyant CEO of Sujimoto Luxury Construction Limited, took a new turn on Saturday as he publicly defended his integrity in the face of mounting allegations of fraud and money laundering.

The Economic and Financial Crimes Commission (EFCC), acting on a petition by the Enugu State Government, recently declared Ogundele wanted over an alleged diversion of N5.7 billion meant for the construction of 22 Smart Green Schools across the state. The government accused him of abandoning the multi-billion-naira contract, presenting shoddy work, and vanishing after pocketing half of the project sum.

But in an emotional post shared on his X (formerly Twitter) handle, Ogundele painted a different picture of the unfolding saga. He shared a video clip showing a mangled car, claiming it was from a near-fatal accident that occurred while he was working on the project.

“I went to Enugu with nothing but a good heart, the desire to build, to uplift, to leave behind something greater than myself,” he wrote.

“Even when life tested me with an accident that almost broke me, I stayed, because commitment is not convenient, it is sacrifice. Today, I stand before you not as a perfect man, but as a man of truth. My only defense is my integrity, and my greatest witness is the work I have done. In the end, time will separate noise from truth. Until then, I remain steadfast, because my intentions were pure, and my conscience is clear.”

The Enugu State Government, however, insists Ogundele committed “premeditated fraud”, alleging that while he presented a Jaiz Bank bond to secure the contract, he routed payments through a Zenith Bank account, making it difficult to hold the guarantor liable. A joint inspection by EFCC operatives and state officials in May 2025 reportedly revealed “minimal to no meaningful work” on the school sites.

Governor Peter Mbah’s administration has since repossessed the projects, re-awarded them to other firms, and vowed to recover “every kobo of Ndi Enugu’s money.”

Ogundele, one of Nigeria’s most visible luxury property developers and a social media-savvy entrepreneur, now faces perhaps the most defining battle of his career — one that pits reputation against allegations, and personal narrative against the weight of state-backed investigation.

For now, the man many know simply as “Sujimoto” says he will let time prove his case. But for the parents and children of Enugu, whose hopes rest on the Smart Green Schools initiative, the clock is ticking.