EFCC Arraigns Man For N56.46M Hajj Fraud
Written by News Desk on August 14, 2026
The Economic and Financial Crimes Commission (EFCC) has arraigned a man, Lawal Babale Musa, over an alleged N56.49 million fraud involving funds reportedly paid to him for the 2023 Hajj pilgrimage.
Musa who was brought before Justice Olusola Adetujoye of the Oyo State High Court sitting in Ibadan on Thursday was charged by the defendant with 57 counts bordering on alleged stealing by conversion, forgery and uttering of documents.
According to the Commission, the money was collected from Ibrahim Shuaibu and was intended to facilitate the pilgrimage of 10 individuals through the Kaduna State Pilgrims Welfare Agency.
The alleged victims, identified as cattle breeders and rearers operating in the Oke-Ogun area of Oyo State, reportedly paid a combined N56,491,000 to Shuaibu after Musa allegedly presented himself as someone connected to the Kaduna State Government who could facilitate their participation in the 2023 Hajj.
The EFCC explained that the alleged Musa subsequently forged Kaduna State Pilgrims Welfare Agency receipts and presented some of the documents as genuine noting that the payments, none of the prospective pilgrims reportedly travelled to Saudi Arabia for the 2023 Hajj, as Musa allegedly failed to fulfil the arrangement.
When the 57-count charges were read to him in court, Musa pleaded not guilty to all the allegations.
The prosecution counsel, Bashir Shamsuddeen, consequently asked the court to set a date for trial and ordered that the defendant be remanded in a correctional facility pending further proceedings.
Musa’s counsel, Kehinde Adegbola, told the court that a bail application had already been filed and urged the court to admit his client to bail on liberal terms.
While the judgment lasted , Justice Adetujoye adjourned the case until August 17, 2026, for hearing of the bail application and ordered that Musa be remanded at the Agodi Correctional Centre pending the hearing.
