Rabiu Tijjani, a Nigerian businessman based in the United Arab Emirates, has rejected the fraud allegation levelled against him by the Economic and Financial Crimes Commission (EFCC), describing the agency’s publication as defamatory and threatening legal action.
The EFCC had declared Tijjani wanted over an alleged $1.9 million fraud. According to the anti-graft agency, the businessman is being sought in connection with a case involving conspiracy, obtaining money by false pretence, and money laundering to the tune of $1,931,700.12.
But Tijjani insists the transaction in question was a clean business deal. “I am the aggrieved party in this matter, yet the EFCC is portraying me as a criminal,” he said.
Speaking from the UAE where he currently resides, Tijjani explained that the deal was with one Ifeanyi Ezeokolu, and involved a total of over \$77 million in transactions carried out over a one-year period.
“Ifeanyi would send naira to me and I would return the dollar equivalent. These transactions were done using his eleven registered companies,” Tijjani said, adding that after going through the financial records, it became clear that Ifeanyi had been overpaid.
He said all efforts to sort out the issue failed, which led him to involve the Department of State Services (DSS). “I reached out to the DSS. Both sides were interrogated and the advice was to hire an external auditor. Despite this, Ifeanyi later took the DSS to court claiming his rights were violated,” Tijjani explained.
According to him, the EFCC only got involved after the DSS withdrew. He said he had already sent representatives to engage with the commission and was planning to appear in person.
Olumide Ajayi, the external auditor brought in to review the records, reportedly confirmed that preliminary findings revealed overpayments of more than $2 million to companies associated with Ifeanyi.
Ajayi also stated that only nine of the eleven companies involved submitted their records, while two failed to comply.
Tijjani said he would visit the EFCC headquarters in Abuja on Monday to give further explanation.
