EFCC Arraigns Native Doctor, Wife For Alleged N1b Fraud

The Economic and Financial Crimes Commission has arraigned a self-styled native doctor, Olorunbukunmi Taiwo, and his wife, Awolegan Omolola Omotola, over an alleged contract scam involving ₦1,098,961,500.

The Ilorin Zonal Directorate of the EFCC brought the defendants before Justice Abubakar Usman of the Federal High Court sitting in Ado-Ekiti, Ekiti State, on a six-count charge bordering on obtaining money by false pretence and retention of proceeds of crime.

According to the anti-graft agency, the couple allegedly defrauded a widow, Anazia Colina Kenechukwu, a private school proprietor in Delta State, after Taiwo reportedly claimed he had secured a road construction contract from the Delta State Oil Producing Areas Development Commission (DESOPADEC).

The petitioner said she was persuaded to finance the project based on the alleged contract, which later turned out to be fraudulent, prompting her complaint to the EFCC and subsequent investigation.

The charges filed against the defendants are said to contravene Section 17(a) of the EFCC (Establishment) Act, 2004, as well as other relevant financial crime provisions.

The defendants were arraigned alongside allegations that they retained proceeds derived from the suspected fraudulent scheme.

The court proceedings are expected to continue as the EFCC pushes for accountability in the alleged multimillion-naira fraud case.