The Ibadan office of the Economic and Financial Crimes Commission has brought a man named Lawal Musa to court for allegedly defrauding people of N56.4 million meant for the Hajj pilgrimage.
The EFCC shared a statement on its official X account on Friday. This statement revealed that Musa was taken to court on Thursday before Justice Olusola Adetujoye at the Oyo State High Court in Ibadan.
Musa reportedly approached a man named Ibrahim Shuaibu, claiming he worked for the Kaduna State Government and could help with the 2023 Hajj pilgrimage.
Shuaibu then told his friends: Jibril Adamu, Suleiman Aminatu, Musa Haruna, Suleiman N. Abdullahi, Audu Bello, Yusuf Umaru, Saidu Musa, Idris Suleiman, Musa Yunusa, and Usman Haruna. They all paid a total of N56,491,000 to Shuaibu. He was supposed to transfer this money to Musa for the pilgrimage.
“However, no one among the victims was able to attend the Hajj pilgrimage in Saudi Arabia in 2023 because Musa did not keep his promise,” the EFCC statement said.
The charges against Musa include 57 counts related to forgery, document fraud, and stealing.
The first charge states, “That you, Lawal Babale Musa ‘M’ on or between 2nd November 2022 and 22nd July 2024 at Ibadan, within the jurisdiction of this Honourable Court, converted to your own personal use, total sum of N56,491,000 from Ibrahim Shuaibu, the money meant for the Hajj pilgrimage through the Kaduna State Pilgrims Welfare Agency for Jibril Adamu, Suleiman Aminatu, Musa Haruna, Suleiman N. Abdullahi, Audu Bello, Yusuf Umaru, Saidu Musa, Idris Suleiman, Musa Yunusa, and Usman Haruna, and thereby committed an offence of stealing by conversion contrary to Section 390(9) of the Criminal Code Law, Cap 38, Laws of Oyo State, 2000.”
The second charge reads, “That you, Lawal Babale Musa ‘M’ on or about 10th November 2023 at Ibadan, Oyo State, within the jurisdiction of this Honourable Court, forged a Kaduna State Pilgrims Welfare Agency Receipt Number: 0013041 in the name of Jibril Adamu with intent that it may be acted upon as genuine, and thereby committed an offence of Forgery of document contrary to Section 465 and punishable under Section 467 of the Criminal Code Law Cap 38, Laws of Oyo State, 2000.”
Another charge states, “That you, Lawal Babale Musa ‘M’ on or about 2nd February 2024 at Ibadan, Oyo State, within the jurisdiction of this Honourable Court, uttered a Kaduna State Pilgrims Welfare Agency Receipt with Receipt Number: 012654 to one Jibril Adamu with intent that it may be acted upon as genuine, and thereby committed an offence of uttering of document contrary to Section 468 and punishable under Section 467 of the Criminal Code Law Cap 38, Laws of Oyo State, 2000.”
The EFCC noted that Musa pleaded “not guilty” to all the charges when they were read to him in court.
After his plea, the prosecution lawyer, Bashir Shamsuddeen, requested a trial date and asked that Musa be held in a correctional centre.
Musa's lawyer, Kehinde Adegbola, told the court he had filed a motion to grant his client bail on easy terms. Justice Adetujoye then postponed the case to August 17, 2026, to hear the bail application and ordered that Musa be kept in Agodi Correctional Centre.
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