The Economic and Financial Crimes Commission (EFCC) on Monday arraigned an Abuja-based couple, Osabohein Ologbose and his wife, Hope Oghelemu, before Justice Ekerete Akpan of the Federal High Court in Abuja for their alleged involvement in a N740 million fraud.
Alongside the couple, two companies—Onome Global Market Resources Limited and Lexicon Multi-Concept Media Limited—were also charged. The seven-count charge includes obtaining money by false pretence, conversion of funds, and money laundering, all in violation of Section 18(2)(b) and punishable under Section 18(4) of the Money Laundering (Prevention and Prohibition) Act, 2022.
According to the EFCC, between January 2023 and April 2024, Ologbose allegedly received N340 million into his Kuda Microfinance Bank account from his wife’s Access Bank account, knowing or having reasonable grounds to know that the money was the proceeds of an unlawful act. Another charge states that he used N24.1 million from the same source to open a music and photo studio at Crowther Plaza, Gudu District, Abuja, despite knowing the funds were illicit.
The EFCC further alleges that the couple lured unsuspecting investors with the promise of lucrative returns from the supposed procurement and export of bitter kola and red kolanut to Hong Kong, China, and Indonesia. However, investigations revealed that investors neither received returns nor had their capital refunded.
During the arraignment, defence counsel Marshal Abubakar asked the court to allow the first defendant to continue on previously granted administrative bail and sought bail for the third defendant, noting that she was nursing a one-year-old child.
Justice Akpan permitted Ologbose to remain on administrative bail but refused bail for Oghelemu, ordering her remand at the Suleja Correctional Centre. The court adjourned the case to April 27, 2026, for a definite hearing.
The EFCC described the arraignment as part of its ongoing efforts to hold individuals and organizations accountable for large-scale financial crimes in Nigeria.
This case comes amid a series of high-profile fraud investigations, including the recent arrest of a Lagos couple accused of staging a fake kidnapping to extort N10 million from their friends and relatives.
