The Economic and Financial Crimes Commission (EFCC) has arraigned Lawal Babale Musa before an Oyo State High Court in Ibadan over alleged forgery, uttering of documents and the conversion of N56.49 million said to have been paid for the 2023 Hajj pilgrimage.
Musa was arraigned on Thursday, August 13, 2026, by the Ibadan Zonal Directorate of the EFCC before Justice Olusola Adetujoye on a 57-count charge bordering on forgery, uttering of documents and stealing.
According to the EFCC, the alleged offences involved N56,491,000 paid by Ibrahim Shuaibu to facilitate the 2023 Hajj pilgrimage for 10 prospective pilgrims through the Kaduna State Pilgrims Welfare Agency.
The commission alleged that Musa converted the funds to his personal use instead of using them for the purpose for which they were paid.
One of the counts alleged that Musa, between November 2, 2022, and July 22, 2024, in Ibadan, converted the sum of N56,491,000 to his personal use.
The EFCC further alleged that Musa forged a Kaduna State Pilgrims Welfare Agency receipt, with the intention that it would be acted upon as genuine.
Another count accused him of allegedly uttering a Kaduna State Pilgrims Welfare Agency receipt to one of the prospective pilgrims, Jibril Adamu, with the intention that it would be accepted as genuine.
The defendant pleaded not guilty to all the charges when they were read to him.
Following his plea, prosecution counsel, Bashir Shamsuddeen, asked the court to adjourn the matter for trial and remand the defendant in a correctional centre.
Counsel to the defendant, Kehinde Adegbola, however, informed the court that he had filed a motion seeking bail for his client on liberal terms.
Justice Adetujoye adjourned the case until August 17, 2026, for hearing of the bail application and ordered that Musa be remanded at the Agodi Correctional Centre.
The EFCC alleged that the case arose after Musa approached Shuaibu and represented that he worked for the Kaduna State Government and could assist in facilitating the 2023 Hajj pilgrimage.
According to the commission, Shuaibu subsequently informed 10 of his friends, who are involved in cattle breeding and rearing in the Oke-Ogun area of Oyo State, about the arrangement.
The EFCC alleged that the prospective pilgrims cumulatively paid N56,491,000 to Shuaibu, who subsequently transferred the money to Musa for the purpose of facilitating their pilgrimage.
The commission further alleged that none of the prospective pilgrims travelled to Saudi Arabia for the 2023 Hajj because Musa allegedly failed to fulfil the arrangement.
