By Abdulraheem Olanrewaju
The Ilorin Zonal Directorate of the Economic and Financial Crimes Commission, EFCC, has arraigned a 45-year-old businessman, Kazeem Akinwunmi Bolaji, before the Kwara State High Court sitting in Ilorin over alleged employment scam and retention of proceeds of unlawful activities.
Bolaji was arraigned on Wednesday before Justice Mahmud Abdulgafar on an 11-count charge bordering on alleged fraud involving fake recruitment promises into the Nigeria Customs Service and the Nigeria Security and Civil Defence Corps, NSCDC.
According to the EFCC, the defendant allegedly collected money from unsuspecting job seekers under the guise of securing employment for them in the agencies.
The anti-graft agency alleged that in one instance, Bolaji obtained N130,026.88 from twin brothers, Taiwo and Kehinde Abe, through one Akande Shina, with a promise to secure jobs for them in the NSCDC.
He was also accused of receiving N45,000 from one Olarewaju Akande under the pretext of helping him secure employment with the Nigeria Customs Service.
Investigations by the EFCC further revealed that the defendant allegedly posed at different times as an officer of the Nigeria Customs Service and the Nigeria Immigration Service, claiming to have access to employment slots for interested applicants.
The Commission said the suspect allegedly benefited about N22.5 million from the fraudulent activities.
One of the charges read in court stated that the defendant, sometime in November 2025 in Ilorin, obtained N130,026.88 through an Opay account under false pretence of securing employment for the Abe twins in the NSCDC.
The offence, according to the EFCC, contravenes Section 1(1)(a) of the Advance Fee Fraud and Other Fraud Related Offences Act, 2006 and is punishable under Section 1(3) of the same Act.
The defendant, however, pleaded not guilty to all the charges.
Following his plea, counsel to the EFCC, Sesan Ola, urged the court to fix a date for trial and remand the defendant in custody pending the hearing of the case.
Justice Abdulgafar subsequently adjourned the matter till June 24, 2026, for commencement of trial and ordered that the defendant be remanded at the Nigerian Correctional Centre pending further proceedings.
