Lawal Musa arraigned for N56.4m Hajj pilgrimage fraud

The Economic and Financial Crimes Commission (EFCC) has arraigned Lawal Babale Musa before the Oyo State High Court in Ibadan on 57 counts involving forgery, uttering of documents, and stealing by conversion.

Musa is accused of defrauding Ibrahim Shuaibu of N56,491,000, which was intended to facilitate the 2023 Hajj pilgrimage for 10 individuals through the Kaduna State Pilgrims Welfare Agency. The victims, identified as cattle breeders and rearers from the Oke-Ogun area of Oyo State, were unable to attend the pilgrimage due to the alleged fraud.

Prosecutors allege that Musa claimed to work for the Kaduna State Government to gain trust and subsequently forged agency receipts to present them as genuine. Musa has pleaded not guilty to the charges. The court has adjourned the case until August 17 to hear a bail application, and the defendant has been remanded at the Agodi Correctional facility.