CONTRACT FRAUD CHARGES FILED

The Ilorin Zonal Command of the Economic and Financial Crimes Commission (EFCC) brought charges against Alexander Adeniran Babarinde, a businessman from Oro-Ago in Ifelodun Local Government Area of Kwara State, for his alleged involvement in a contract scam, obtaining money under false pretenses, and forgery.

Babarinde, along with his company, Ajays Engineering Limited, and an individual named Suleiman Muhammed (who is currently at large), was arraigned before Justice Mahmud Abdulgafar of the Kwara State High Court in Ilorin on eight counts of obtaining money under false pretenses.

The defendants purportedly obtained various sums of money from the complainant by falsely claiming to fund and execute Federal Government contracts. Investigations by the EFCC revealed that the contract award letters presented by Babarinde were forged and did not originate from the claimed government agencies.

It was alleged that the defendants fraudulently obtained N170 million from the complainant as capital to execute the nonexistent contracts. Despite efforts to recover the funds, they remained unsuccessful.

One of the charges against Babarinde reads: "That you, ALEXANDER ADENIRAN BABARINDE, AJAYS ENGINEERING LIMITED, and SULEIMAN MOHAMMED (STILL AT LARGE), sometime between January 2021 and December 2021, in Ilorin Kwara State, within the jurisdiction of this Honourable Court, with intent to defraud, did obtain the sum of N30,530,300.00 (Thirty Million, Five Hundred and Thirty Thousand, Three Hundred Naira) from one EZEKIEL OLA BABATUNDE as fees for the funding and execution of Federal Government contracts and thereby committed an offence contrary to Section 1 (1) (a) of the Advance Fee Fraud and other Fraud Related Offences Act, 2006 and punishable under Section 1 (3) of the same Act."

Babarinde pleaded not guilty to all charges.

Following his plea, the EFCC's counsel, Rasheedat Alao, requested the court to remand Babarinde in the custody of the Nigeria Correctional Service and set a trial date to enable the prosecution to prove its case.

Justice Abdulgafar ordered the defendant to be remanded in the Correctional Service's custody and scheduled the trial for March 13, 2024.