The FCT High Court's Gwagwalada Division has ordered that court processes be served on Olori Halimat Tejuosho and her company, Haleems Nigeria Limited.
According to Peoples Gazette, they allegedly defrauded her financier of N436,325,000 earmarked for the execution of a building contract awarded by the Ministry of Niger Delta Affairs.
Ms. Tejuosho contacted Emmanuel Suku to partner with her as a financier after securing a contract for the building of 500 units of houses in Karshi FCT, Abuja, in May 2021, and asked him for an initial advance fee of N300,000,000 and another N136,325,000 paid in tranches to her personal and company accounts.
Suku claimed that he was entitled to 30% of the N4.47 billion contract deal based on the partnership agreement contained in a police investigation report.
When Ms. Tejuosho began to avoid him, the financier suspected foul play, pressuring him to send his brothers to the construction area to monitor the progress of the project.
He was shocked to learn that the project had come to a halt during a WhatsApp video call he had with his brothers on the job site.
According to a police investigation report signed by police commissioner, Mohammed Yakubu
He said:
"There has been no activity on the project site since the groundbreaking ceremony. On the property, there was an unfinished gatehouse structure and two (2) shipping containers. However, no workers, equipment, or building supplies were seen on the site,"
He later discovered that the Niger Delta Affairs Ministry had withdrawn the project from Ms Tejuosho and her company due to contract violations.
Ms Tejuosho "could not give a satisfactory account of how she spent the money" when confronted with the findings and began making plans to flee the country to avoid accountability to her financier.
Further investigation into her financial accounts revealed that she had spent the project's funds on four exotic cars worth N150,000,000, luxury shoes and bags, designer watches, a soundproof generator for her house, and other electronic items worth millions purchased from Cash 'N' Carry store.
Ms Tejuosho also provided scholarships to 30 students at Espam Formation University in Cotonou, Benin Republic, where she serves as chancellor.
Her bank statements also revealed that she wired several million naira to one Ifeoma Vivienne Obilor, an interior decorator, to furnish her home in Peace Garden Estate, Sangotedo, Lagos with expensive furniture.
A portion of Ms Tejuosho's funds were traced to one Royal Apparel, said to be her staff, with Heritage Bank account number 5100351905, which had received N200 million in installments.
Since establishing a case of financial fraud, criminal diversion of funds, criminal breach of trust, and cheating against Ms Tejuosho, the police commissioner recommended her prosecution.
The case, FCT/HC/CV/589/2022, has been postponed until January 25 for further hearing.
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