A Nigerian-American businessman, Badetito Obafemi, has appealed to President Bola Tinubu and the Economic and Financial Crimes Commission (EFCC) to intervene in an alleged international fraud case involving more than $4 million in transactions, as he seeks an update on an investigation the commission acknowledged in 2024.
Obafemi, through his solicitors, Falana & Falana’s Chambers, is asking Nigerian authorities to investigate the individuals and financial intermediaries allegedly involved in the transactions and establish the responsibilities of all parties, including his own.
The petition names several individuals, Polaris Bank Limited, Waquatam Global Ventures and a number of Bureau de Change (BDC) operators and associates.
The businessman alleges that he was wrongly implicated in financial crimes in the United States and suffered imprisonment, business closures and substantial financial losses, while those he believes were responsible for the transactions remain in Nigeria.
The allegations have not been established by a Nigerian court, and the material supplied does not show that the individuals or institutions named have been charged or found guilty in connection with the claims.
EFCC acknowledged petition in 2024
Documents provided by Obafemi’s lawyers show that the EFCC acknowledged receipt of a petition dated May 17, 2024.
In a letter dated June 19, 2024, with reference number CR: 3000/EFCC/LS/EGCS-1/TE/QU/VOL.1/319, the commission stated that the petition had been approved and assigned for investigation.
The letter, signed by Oni Deborah O., identified as Head of Investigation, Lagos, invited a representative of Falana & Falana’s Chambers familiar with the matter to attend an adoption and interview session scheduled for June 26, 2024, at the commission’s training room in Ikoyi, Lagos.
However, the lawyers say they have yet to receive a clear account of the investigation’s progress.
In a follow-up letter dated April 21, 2026, addressed to the Acting Zonal Director of the EFCC Lagos Zonal Directorate, the law firm requested a formal status report.
The lawyers said repeated visits to the commission had not produced definite information about the investigation or the steps taken since the petition was assigned.
They identified the Economic Governance Crime Section as the unit handling the matter and asked the commission to provide an update.
The EFCC’s 2024 acknowledgement confirms that the petition entered its investigative process, but the documents supplied do not establish the outcome of the investigation or whether any prosecution has followed.
How the alleged $4m transactions began
According to the petition, Obafemi established aviation, logistics and travel businesses in Nigeria and the United States.
He reportedly developed an online travel-booking platform in 2013 and later incorporated Easytickets Limited in Nigeria in 2015 to serve growing demand from Nigerian customers.
The business subsequently faced difficulties transferring proceeds from Nigerian ticket sales to international airlines, which required payment in US dollars.
The petition says Obafemi approached the then Skye Bank, now Polaris Bank, for assistance with foreign exchange transactions.
He was allegedly referred to the bank’s Alausa branch, where he met Quadri Babatunde Ayanwale, who reportedly presented himself as a senior employee in the foreign exchange department.
According to the lawyers, Ayanwale said the bank could facilitate currency conversion and international transfers through customers seeking to exchange dollars for naira.
The petition cites an August 2016 transaction in which Obafemi allegedly requested $170,000 to meet business obligations but was informed on August 16 that $230,000 had entered Easytickets LLC’s Bank of America account in the United States.
Obafemi reportedly questioned the additional $60,000 and was allegedly instructed to transfer the excess to accounts identified in the petition as belonging to Oladapo M. Ojo and Mr. and Mrs. Kolawole Ayanwale.
The lawyers further allege that the naira equivalents were paid into individual customer accounts provided to their client.
The petition says the transactions formed part of a wider arrangement involving other banks and foreign exchange operators.
Businessman alleges he bought more than $4m
As his travel business expanded, Obafemi reportedly approached Zenith Bank and Access Bank for assistance with foreign currency transactions.
According to the petition, he was introduced to several BDC operators, including Muhammad Basheer Hamma, Bello Nasiru, Umoru Abubakar Ibrahim and Abdulbashir Babatunde Oladepo.
The lawyers allege that over a period of 12 to 18 months, Obafemi purchased more than $4 million from the operators and their associates, believing the transactions were legitimate.
The petition says he was arrested in the United States in 2021 and subsequently informed that funds connected to the transactions had allegedly been fraudulently obtained.
Falana & Falana’s Chambers further claims that American law enforcement agencies, including the Federal Bureau of Investigation and the Department of Homeland Security, informed Obafemi that some of the funds transferred into his US accounts were allegedly obtained from individuals in the United States, including elderly and retired persons.
The lawyers maintain that their client did not know the funds were allegedly proceeds of fraud when he received and transferred them.
Lawyers detail alleged US business losses
The petition also outlines the consequences Obafemi allegedly faced in the United States.
His lawyers claim that American authorities shut down his businesses, revoked licences and certifications, placed liens on his assets, closed his company’s website and restricted its operations.
They further state that he spent 16 months and two weeks in prison and was subsequently placed under 24-hour house arrest for 30 months after providing documents and other information to assist the investigation.
The lawyers say the developments led to the collapse of his aviation and travel businesses in both countries, alongside significant financial and personal hardship.
These claims have not been independently established by the documents supplied.
Businessman seeks cross-border investigation
Obafemi is asking Tinubu, the Attorney-General of the Federation, the EFCC chairman and other relevant authorities to ensure that the case receives appropriate attention.
He wants an independent and transparent investigation into the alleged transactions, including the roles of the individuals, financial institutions and foreign exchange operators named in the petition.
He is also seeking cooperation between Nigerian authorities and their American counterparts, where necessary, to trace the funds, identify their beneficiaries and determine the responsibilities of all parties.
The businessman says anyone found culpable should be prosecuted before the appropriate courts and that efforts should be made to recover funds established to have been fraudulently obtained.
He has also asked that his own alleged role in the transactions be investigated, particularly in view of the reported legal and business consequences he experienced in the United States.
At the centre of his appeal is a question raised by his lawyers: what has happened to the investigation since the EFCC acknowledged and approved the petition in June 2024?
The EFCC’s response to the April 2026 request for an update, as well as the positions of the individuals and institutions named in the petition, were not included in the materials provided for this report.
