A self-styled native doctor, Olorunbukunmi Taiwo, and his wife, Awolegan Omolola Omotola, have been arraigned before the Federal High Court in Ado-Ekiti over an alleged ₦1.09 billion contract fraud.
The case is being prosecuted by the Ilorin Zonal Directorate of the Economic and Financial Crimes Commission.
The couple appeared before Justice Abubakar Usman on a six-count charge bordering on obtaining money by false pretence and retention of proceeds of crime.
According to the EFCC, the case followed a petition by Anazia Colina Kenechukwu, a Delta State-based widow and private school proprietor.
The petitioner alleged that Taiwo fraudulently convinced her to finance a road construction contract which he claimed had been awarded to him by the Delta State Oil Producing Areas Development Commission, DESOPADEC.
The anti-graft agency told the court that the alleged false representation induced the complainant to part with huge sums of money between January 2024 and November 2025.
In one of the counts, the EFCC alleged that the defendants fraudulently obtained ₦1,098,961,500 from Kenechukwu through Taiwo’s bank account under the guise of executing the purported road project.
The Commission said the claim was false.
Investigators also allegedly traced transactions linked to the matter and discovered that a total of ₦1.98 billion was paid into an account operated by Taiwo.
The EFCC further alleged that part of the proceeds was used to acquire landed properties in Ado-Ekiti, including a hospitality facility known as Town Tavern Lounge on Ikere Road and a four-bedroom bungalow within Irewolede Estate.
The properties had earlier been placed under interim attachment following an order obtained by the EFCC on May 25, 2026.
When the charges were read to the defendants, Taiwo and Omotola pleaded not guilty to all the counts.
Following their plea, EFCC counsel, Sesan Ola, urged the court to fix a date for trial and remand the defendants pending further proceedings.
Justice Usman adjourned the matter till June 11, 2026, for hearing of the defendants’ bail application and commencement of trial.
The judge also ordered that the couple be remanded in EFCC custody pending the determination of their bail request.