BREAKING: Sujimoto CEO Sijibomi Ogundele Denied Legal Access, Held With Restricted Access To Food And Water In EFCC Custody –Sources

Mr. Sijibomi Ogundele, CEO of Sujimoto, is still being detained by the Enugu State zonal office of the Economic and Financial Crimes Commission (EFCC) following his voluntary visit to the Commission to address his company’s ongoing dispute with the Enugu State Government.

Mr. Ogundele, whose company has been embroiled in a Smart School contractual dispute in court since June 2025, had recently been declared wanted by the EFCC in connection with the same case pending before the Enugu State High Court.

On Monday, September 8, 2025, Mr. Ogundele visited the EFCC Enugu Zone office to provide clarifications on the contractual dispute but was subsequently detained. He described the action as part of a pattern of malicious persecution by the authorities.

SaharaReporters gathered that tensions escalated on Wednesday, September 10, 2025, when Mr. Sijibomi Ogundele’s lawyers visited him. During the visit, Mr. Ogundele attempted to describe to his legal team the hostile conditions he faced in detention under the supervision of Ms. Adaora Asabe Oragudosi, Sectional Head of the Tax Fraud Section at EFCC Enugu Zone.

Sources told SaharaReporters that Mr. Ogundele’s effort to relay his ordeal—being held for days with restricted access to food and water—was abruptly cut short by Ms. Oragudosi, who barred him from communicating with his lawyers.

SaharaReporters learnt that a visibly distressed Mr. Ogundele, along with his legal team, strongly protested what they described as a flagrant violation of his fundamental rights.

Despite their objections, Ms. Oragudosi ordered Mr. Ogundele returned to detention and directed his lawyers to leave the EFCC Enugu premises.

Sujimoto’s in-house counsel, Barrister Victor Clinton, confirmed the development.

SaharaReporters earlier reported that the anti-graft agency grilled Ogundele for several hours in Abuja on Monday over allegations of diverting N5.7billion belonging to Enugu State.

SaharaReporters reported that Ogundele, who arrived at the commission’s headquarters after being declared wanted, was interrogated by investigators till around 8 pm on Monday.

A source at the anti-graft agency confirmed that the EFCC had frozen Ogundele’s personal and company accounts and seized his passport to restrict his movement.

“The Chief Executive Officer of Sujimoto Luxury Construction Limited has surrendered to our commission, and we immediately took him into custody. For more than 10 hours, we have been questioning him based on the petition of the Enugu State Government,” the source said.

The controversy stems from an N11 billion contract awarded to Sujimoto by the Enugu State Government.

Although the state initially approved a 30 percent payment, Ogundele allegedly pleaded for 50 percent upfront to fast-track delivery. The government released N5.7billion — representing half of the contract sum.

However, according to the petition filed by the state, the actual value of work delivered by Sujimoto on site was estimated at only N750 million.

Officials accused Ogundele of abandoning the project, refusing to return to the site, and dodging accountability despite repeated reminders.

Following his failure to honour EFCC invitations, the anti-graft agency declared him wanted before he eventually turned himself in.

Reacting in a video shared online, a visibly emotional Ogundele denied any wrongdoing, insisting the matter was a contractual dispute and not a criminal case.

“I’m not a thief; I’m not a fugitive. This is a contract between my company and the Enugu State Government. The Enugu State Government asked me to help them build a couple of things, which was very interesting. I was going to the state every week,” he said.

The EFCC’s Head of Media and Publicity, Dele Oyewale, confirmed late Monday that investigators were still grilling the luxury construction mogul.