Native Doctor, Wife Arraigned Over Alleged N1.09bn Contract Scam In Ekiti

The Economic and Financial Crimes Commission (EFCC) has arraigned a self-styled native doctor, Olorunbukunmi Taiwo, and his wife, Awolegan Omolola Omotola, before a Federal High Court sitting in Ado-Ekiti over an alleged N1.09 billion contract fraud.

The couple were brought before Justice Abubakar Usman by the Ilorin Zonal Directorate of the EFCC on a six-count charge bordering on obtaining money by false pretences and retention of proceeds of crime.

According to the EFCC, the defendants were arrested following a petition filed by Anazia Colina Kenechukwu, a widow and proprietor of a private school in Delta State, who alleged that Taiwo convinced her to finance a road construction contract he claimed to have secured from the Delta State Oil Producing Areas Development Commission (DESOPADEC).

The anti-graft agency said investigations showed that the defendants allegedly obtained a total sum of N1,098,961,500 from the complainant and used part of the funds to acquire properties in Ado-Ekiti, including a facility known as Town Tavern Lounge and a four-bedroom bungalow.

One of the charges read in court stated: “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 N1,098,961,500.00 from one Anazia Colina Kenechukwu.”

The EFCC further alleged that the money was paid into Taiwo’s Access Bank account after false assurances that it would be used for a DESOPADEC road project.

According to the charge, the funds were obtained “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.”

The EFCC also disclosed that it had secured an interim forfeiture order on the two properties allegedly acquired with proceeds of the fraud on May 25, 2026.

The defendants pleaded not guilty to all six counts when the charges were read in court.

EFCC counsel Sesan Ola urged the court to fix a date for trial and requested that the defendants be remanded in custody pending further proceedings.

Justice Usman adjourned the matter until June 11, 2026, for hearing of the bail application and commencement of trial.

The court also ordered that the defendants remain in EFCC custody pending the determination of their bail application.