The Economic and Financial Crimes Commission (EFCC) has arraigned a Nigerian-American, Oluwatobi Adegoke, before the Special Offences Court in Ikeja, Lagos, over an alleged luxury vehicle import fraud involving hundreds of thousands of dollars.
Adegoke was arraigned on October 8 before Justice Olubunmi Abike-Fadipe on a one-count charge of stealing. He pleaded not guilty to the allegation.
According to the EFCC, the defendant was arrested in July over his alleged involvement in a syndicate operating from the United States and targeting prospective luxury car buyers in Nigeria.
The commission alleged that Adegoke, while residing in the US, advertised a 2024 Mercedes-Benz G63 AMG to Nigerian buyers, promising to purchase and ship the vehicle to them.
Two alleged victims reportedly paid a combined sum exceeding $320,000 for the transaction.
The EFCC had earlier announced his arrest, identifying him as Adegoke Oluwatobi Adams. Reports on the case indicated that Ikechukwu Osita Ifeabunike allegedly paid $145,000 through an intermediary, while Godson Azubuike Amans reportedly paid $175,000 towards the proposed vehicle purchase.
However, details contained in the charge read in court raised questions about the amount allegedly involved and the vehicle under investigation.
The charge referred to $680,000 allegedly belonging to Ifeabunike, accusing Adegoke of dishonestly converting the money after it was transferred to the account of his company, Omosco Auto Sales LLC, for the purchase of a 2022 G-Wagon from an individual identified as Robinson.
The EFCC's statement did not explain the discrepancy between the $320,000 cited in its account of the alleged fraud and the $680,000 stated in the court charge. The difference between the 2024 Mercedes-Benz G63 AMG mentioned in the commission's account and the 2022 G-Wagon referenced in the charge also remained unexplained.
Following the defendant's plea, EFCC counsel, Arazeem Adebayo, urged the court to remand him in a correctional facility and schedule the case for trial.
Defence counsel, Olalekan Abiodun, requested that his client be held in EFCC custody pending the filing of a bail application. According to the commission, the court declined the request.
Justice Abike-Fadipe subsequently ordered that Adegoke be remanded at the Kirikiri Correctional Centre in Lagos.
The court adjourned the case until January 13, 2027, for trial.
