An Abuja couple has been brought before a federal court on charges of defrauding investors of hundreds of millions of naira through a fake agricultural export scheme.
The Economic and Financial Crimes Commission arraigned Osabohein Ologbose and his wife, Hope Oghelemu, before Justice Ekerete Akpan of the Federal High Court in Abuja on Monday. Two companies allegedly linked to the pair — Onome Global Market Resources Limited and Lexicon Multi-Concept Media Limited — were also charged.
The couple faces seven counts including obtaining money under false pretences, conversion of funds, and money laundering, offences that carry penalties under Nigeria’s Money Laundering (Prevention and Prohibition) Act, 2022.
Prosecutors allege that between January 2023 and April 2024, the couple lured unsuspecting investors with promises of lucrative returns from the procurement and export of bitter kola and red kolanut to markets in Hong Kong, China, and Indonesia. No such exports took place. Investors received neither returns nor refunds of their principal.
Separately, Ologbose is accused of receiving N340 million transferred from his wife’s Access Bank account into his personal Kuda Microfinance Bank account, funds the EFCC says were proceeds of an unlawful act. He also allegedly channelled N24.1 million from the same source into building a music and photo studio at Crowther Plaza in Abuja’s Gudu District.
At Monday’s hearing, defence counsel Marshal Abubakar asked the court to maintain the administrative bail already granted to Ologbose and extend similar terms to Oghelemu, noting that she is nursing a one-year-old child. Justice Akpan allowed Ologbose to remain on bail but ordered Oghelemu remanded at the Suleja Correctional Centre, declining to grant her bail at this stage.
The matter has been adjourned to April 27, 2026, for substantive hearing.
The EFCC said the prosecution is part of its broader campaign to pursue individuals and corporations involved in large-scale financial crimes across Nigeria.
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