EFCC Arraigns Suspect Over Alleged N603.4m NNPC Job Scam in Abuja

The Economic and Financial Crimes Commission (EFCC) has arraigned one Gidado Ibrahim before the Federal Capital Territory (FCT) High Court, Maitama, Abuja, over an alleged N603.4 million job scam involving the Nigerian National Petroleum Corporation (NNPC).

Ibrahim was arraigned on Monday, February 9, 2026, before Justice H. Muazu alongside a co-defendant, Halimat Adenike Tejusho, who is currently at large.

According to the EFCC, the defendants are facing an amended six-count charge bordering on fraud, obtaining money under false pretence, and forgery. The Commission alleged that between August and October 2024, the defendants fraudulently obtained N603,400,000 from one Oluseye Yomi-Sholoye under the false claim that they would facilitate her appointment as the Group Managing Director (GMD) of the NNPC.

Count one of the charge stated that the defendants knowingly made false representations to the victim, an offence contrary to Section 1(a) of the Advance Fee Fraud and Other Fraud Related Offences Act, 2006, and punishable under Section 1(3) of the same Act.

In count two, Ibrahim was further accused of using as genuine a forged document purportedly issued by the Office of the National Security Adviser, titled “Presidential Villa State House, Office of the National Security Adviser,” an offence contrary to Sections 366 and 364 of the Penal Code Law.

At the proceedings, prosecution counsel, Y. Tarfa, informed the court of the amended charges and urged the court to allow the defendant to take his plea. Ibrahim pleaded not guilty to all six counts when the charges were read to him.

Following his plea, the prosecution requested a trial date and asked that the defendant be remanded in a correctional facility pending trial.

Counsel to the defendant, B.B. Alhaji, informed the court of a pending bail application, noting that although the application was not yet ripe for hearing, the defendant should be remanded in EFCC custody due to his health condition.

Justice Muazu, however, ordered that Ibrahim be remanded at the Kuje Correctional Facility and adjourned the matter to February 17, 2026, for hearing of the bail application.

The EFCC reiterated its commitment to tackling fraud and protecting the integrity of public institutions.