Sijibomi Ogundele, usually heralded as Nigeria’s youngest billionaire and a visionary within the luxurious actual property sector, has been a polarizing determine since founding Sujimoto Group in 2013. Born on April 8, 1981, in Agege, Lagos, Ogundele rose from humble beginnings to helm an organization that promised to redefine luxurious residing in Nigeria with tasks just like the LeonardoBySujimoto and LucreziaBySujimoto.
His narrative of overcoming poverty by means of entrepreneurial grit has impressed many, but as of 2024 and 2025, this picture has been more and more overshadowed by critical allegations of fraudulent practices and labor disputes at Sujimoto Building Firm, a subsidiary of Sujimoto Group.
This report delves into these accusations, exploring claims of economic misrepresentation, unpaid investments, and employee exploitation between 2024 and 2025, whereas assessing their implications for Ogundele’s legacy and Nigeria’s actual property business.
Ogundele’s journey is rooted in a compelling backstory. Raised in Agege, a working class Lagos suburb, he was formed by his mom’s entrepreneurial spirit and his father’s company self-discipline. After learning legislation at Anglia Ruskin College, he ventured into actual property, founding Sujimoto Building with ambitions to rival world luxurious builders. The corporate gained prominence with excessive profile tasks in upscale areas like Banana Island and Ikoyi, boasting shoppers reminiscent of pop star Davido and multinational executives. By 2020, Ogundele claimed Sujimoto Group was value over $400 million, with annual revenues of $30 million, positioning it as a pacesetter in Nigeria’s luxurious actual property market.
Sujimoto’s advertising and marketing leaned closely on Ogundele’s persona charismatic, bold, and unapologetic. Tasks just like the LucreziaBySujimoto, billed as Africa’s tallest residential constructing, and the LeonardoBySujimoto promised leading edge options like glass strengthened concrete facades, non-public IMAX cinemas, and full residence automation. But, beneath the shiny brochures and daring claims, cracks started to emerge, significantly in 2024 and 2025, as shoppers, traders, and staff raised considerations about unmet guarantees and monetary irregularities.
Allegations of Fraudulent Exercise
The interval from 2024 to 2025 marked a turning level for Ogundele and Sujimoto Building, with a number of allegations of fraud surfacing. These claims, starting from misrepresentation in property offers to withholding investor funds, have fueled a story of deceit that contrasts sharply with Ogundele’s public picture.
The $325,000 Fraud Case: Arrest and Investigation
On December 1, 2024, Ogundele was arrested by the Nigerian Police Pressure’s Prison Investigations Division (FCID) in Abuja over an alleged $325,000 fraud. The arrest adopted a petition by human rights lawyer Pelumi Olajengbesi, representing Kabiru Ibrahim, who accused Ogundele of acquiring funds underneath false pretenses. In response to the petition, in November 2020, Ibrahim paid $325,000 half of a $650,000 complete for a 3 bed room flat within the LeonardoBySujimoto property. The property, initially priced at $750,000, was provided at a reduction with assurances of completion. Nonetheless, by 2024, Ibrahim alleged that no important building progress had been made, suggesting the funds have been misappropriated.
Studies point out Ogundele was detained briefly and launched on bail, with the police confirming an ongoing investigation. The case, extensively lined by retailers like Punch and WitnessNG, raised questions on Sujimoto’s monetary administration. Critics pointed to a sample of overpromising utilizing lavish advertising and marketing to safe funds with out delivering tangible outcomes. Whereas Ogundele’s camp dismissed the incident as a misunderstanding, the dearth of an in depth public rebuttal fueled hypothesis concerning the firm’s solvency.
The N90.96 Million Funding Dispute
In March 2025, the Foundation for Investigative Journalism (FIJ) revealed a report detailing one other monetary grievance towards Sujimoto Building. A Lagos primarily based investor, recognized as Isaac, claimed the corporate withheld N90.96 million of his funding and promised returns. Isaac’s story started in 2021 when he invested N70 million, rolling it over a number of occasions at Ogundele’s urging. By July 2024, the matured sum, with reinvested earnings, had grown to N120.96 million. Nonetheless, when cost was due, Sujimoto remitted solely N30 million, leaving a steadiness of N90.96 million unpaid.
Isaac criticized the corporate’s opacity, noting that requests for clarification have been met with obscure responses. FIJ’s makes an attempt to contact Sujimoto yielded no substantive reply calls went unanswered, and emails bounced again. This incident, reported on March 6, 2025, intensified scrutiny of Ogundele’s enterprise practices, with some likening the roll over requests to a Ponzi scheme, the place new investments could be used to pay earlier ones. Whereas no authorized ruling has confirmed this, the unpaid sum and lack of communication broken Sujimoto’s credibility additional.
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Broader Patterns of Delayed Tasks
Past these particular instances, 2024 and 2025 noticed rising discontent over Sujimoto’s mission timelines. The LeonardoBySujimoto, a flagship improvement, confronted repeated delays, with traders who paid deposits years earlier expressing frustration over stalled progress. Posts on X and articles, reminiscent of one by HeraldNG on March 25, 2025, highlighted a sentiment that Ogundele’s bold pitches usually outstripped his firm’s capability to ship. The LucreziaBySujimoto, promised for completion by December 2021, remained incomplete by 2025, regardless of Ogundele’s claims of revolutionary luxurious. These delays, coupled with the monetary allegations, instructed to critics that Sujimoto could be grappling with money movement points, probably diverting shopper funds to maintain operations somewhat than finishing tasks.
Non Cost of Staff: A Labor Disaster Emerges
Parallel to the fraud allegations, stories surfaced in 2025 accusing Sujimoto Building of failing to pay its staff, including a labor dimension to the corporate’s woes. These claims, whereas much less documented than the monetary disputes, have amplified perceptions of mismanagement and moral lapses underneath Ogundele’s management.
Scott Igunma’s Public Accusation
On March 24, 2025, a publish on instagram by Scott Igunma, who alleged that Sujimoto had not paid workers salaries since December 2024. Igunma’s declare, missing detailed corroboration, nonetheless sparked on-line dialogue about employee remedy on the firm. Given Sujimoto’s workforce reportedly over 200 professionals and 100 expert laborers by 2021 the accusation hinted at a major labor disaster. If true, unpaid wages spanning 4 months (December 2024 to March 2025) would have an effect on dozens, if not tons of, of staff, from architects to building staff.
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The shortage of official statements from Sujimoto or Ogundele in response to Igunma’s declare left room for hypothesis. Posts on X mirrored blended reactions some customers expressed outrage, whereas others questioned the proof. With out payroll data or employee testimonies within the public area as of March 28, 2025, the allegation stays unverified however aligns with broader considerations concerning the firm’s monetary well being. Non cost of workers might point out extreme liquidity issues, probably linked to the unpaid investor funds and stalled tasks.
Sujimoto’s labor practices haven’t been extensively scrutinized in prior years, however the 2025 accusation echoes earlier challenges. Throughout Nigeria’s financial recession within the mid 2010s, the LorenzoBySujimoto mission confronted setbacks, with Ogundele admitting to persevering by means of “nasty” criticism. Whereas no express labor disputes have been reported then, the present claims recommend a potential escalation of inside points. Nameless posts on X in early 2025 hinted at discontent amongst Sujimoto staff, with one consumer alleging that “workers are quietly leaving” as a result of unpaid wages and uncertainty about mission funding. Although anecdotal, these sentiments underscore a story of instability inside the firm.
Ogundele’s Response and Sujimoto’s Silence
Ogundele has traditionally positioned himself as a resilient chief, emphasizing integrity and high quality as Sujimoto’s core values. Following his December 2024 arrest, sources near the corporate instructed the $325,000 case was exaggerated by rivals jealous of his success. Nonetheless, no complete protection has addressed the 2025 allegations, together with the N90.96 million dispute or the employee cost difficulty. Sujimoto’s official channels have remained largely silent, with makes an attempt by journalists and shoppers to interact the corporate met with unresponsiveness a stark distinction to its as soon as vocal advertising and marketing campaigns.
This reticence has been a double edged sword. On one hand, it avoids escalating public disputes; on the opposite, it leaves allegations unchallenged, permitting skepticism to fester. Ogundele’s previous statements, reminiscent of his 2021 declare to The Nation that “each setback is a strategic manner of God setting me up for larger alternatives,” recommend a private philosophy of perseverance, however with out concrete motion or transparency, this optimism rings hole to critics in 2025.
The allegations towards Ogundele and Sujimoto Building increase a elementary query: do they mirror deliberate fraud or systemic mismanagement? The $325,000 and N90.96 million instances share frequent threadsfunds collected for promised deliverables that did not materialize, coupled with poor communication. These might level to intentional misrepresentation, the place Ogundele knowingly solicited cash with out intent to meet obligations. Alternatively, they may point out overambition and monetary overextension, the place Sujimoto bit off greater than it might chew amid Nigeria’s risky financial local weather.
The employee cost difficulty complicates this additional. Non cost since December 2024, if substantiated, suggests money movement shortages extreme sufficient to halt payroll a purple flag for an organization claiming multimillion greenback revenues. But, with out audited monetary statements or insider testimony, it’s unclear whether or not this stems from fraud (e.g., diverting funds for private achieve) or mismanagement (e.g., prioritizing mission prices over labor). Nigeria’s actual property sector, infamous for weak regulation, supplies fertile floor for each situations, making definitive conclusions elusive pending authorized outcomes.
Public Notion and Media Protection
Public sentiment, as gauged from X posts and media stories, has shifted markedly in 2024–2025. As soon as celebrated as a logo of Nigerian ambition, Ogundele is now a lightning rod for criticism. A HeraldNG article on March 25, 2025, titled “Unmasking the Allegations In opposition to Sijibomi Ogundele,” captured this pivot, dissecting the “controversy” with a tone of disillusionment. On X, customers have oscillated between condemning Ogundele as a “scammer” and cautioning towards unproven claims, reflecting a polarized viewers.
Media protection has been strong however uneven. Retailers like FIJ and Punch have offered detailed accounts of the fraud allegations, whereas the employee cost difficulty depends closely on a single X publish, highlighting a niche in investigative depth. This disparity suggests the labor story could also be underreported, probably as a result of staff’ reluctance to talk out or lack of entry to whistleblowers.
As of March 28, 2025, Sijibomi Ogundele and Sujimoto Building stand at a crossroads. The allegations of fraud $325,000 misappropriated from Kabiru Ibrahim, N90.96 million withheld from Isaac and the declare of unpaid staff since December 2024 paint a damning image of an organization in disaster. But, with investigations ongoing and no courtroom rulings, these stay allegations, not convictions. Ogundele’s refusal to interact publicly, coupled with Sujimoto’s operational silence, leaves the reality obscured, inviting each sympathy for a struggling visionary and scorn for a possible fraudster.
For Ogundele, the stakes are private {and professional}. A as soon as inspiring story of an Agege boy turned billionaire dangers being rewritten as a cautionary fable of hubris. For Sujimoto Building, the fallout threatens its survival, with traders and staff alike questioning its viability. For Nigeria’s actual property sector, the saga underscores the necessity for transparency and accountability, lest ambition outpace integrity. Till definitive proof emerges, Ogundele’s legacy and Sujimoto’s future hold in a precarious steadiness, a story unfolding in actual time as justice and public opinion weigh the scales.
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