Nigerian-American Remanded Over Alleged $320,000 Car Fraud

A Nigerian-American, Oluwatobi Adegoke, has been remanded at the Kirikiri Correctional Centre in Lagos after pleading not guilty to a charge of stealing involving an alleged vehicle import fraud worth more than $320,000.

Justice Olubunmi Abike-Fadipe of the Special Offences Court, sitting in Ikeja, ordered Adegoke’s remand on Thursday, October 8, 2026, after the Economic and Financial Crimes Commission (EFCC) arraigned him on a one-count charge.

The court also adjourned the case until January 13, 2027, for trial.

Following the defendant’s plea, EFCC counsel, Arazeem Adebayo, urged the court to remand him in a correctional facility and fix a date for the commencement of trial.

However, defence counsel, Olalekan Abiodun, asked the court to allow Adegoke to remain in EFCC custody pending the filing of his bail application.

The defence counsel’s request was rejected, with the court ordering that the defendant be transferred to the Kirikiri Correctional Centre.

The EFCC said Adegoke was arrested in July 2026 by operatives of its Ilorin Zonal Directorate over an alleged cross-border vehicle import fraud involving more than $320,000, which the commission put at approximately N434.88 million.

According to the commission, preliminary investigations indicated that the defendant allegedly belonged to a United States-based syndicate that defrauded Nigerians under the pretext of purchasing and importing vehicles from America.

The EFCC alleged that while residing in the United States, Adegoke advertised and circulated photographs of a 2024 Mercedes-Benz G63 AMG to prospective buyers in Nigeria, claiming he could purchase and ship the luxury vehicle to them.

The commission said two victims allegedly paid a combined sum exceeding $320,000 in connection with the transaction.

However, the charge reproduced by the EFCC contains a different amount and vehicle description.

According to the charge, Adegoke allegedly dishonestly converted $680,000 belonging to Ikechukwu Osita Ifeabunike in December 2024. The money was reportedly transferred to the bank account of his company, Omosco Auto Sales LLC, for the purchase of a 2022 G-Wagon from a person identified as Mr Robinson.

The discrepancy between the $320,000 cited in the EFCC’s account of the alleged fraud and the $680,000 stated in the charge was not explained in the commission’s press release.

Adegoke pleaded not guilty to the charge.