Reported by: Ijeoma G | Edited by: Oravbiere Osayomore Promise.
A 57-count charge, N56.4 million, and ten victims who never set foot in Saudi Arabia – the Ibadan Zonal Directorate of the Economic and Financial Crimes Commission (EFCC) has arraigned one Lawal Babale Musa before Justice Olusola Adetujoye of the Oyo State High Court in Ibadan over an alleged pilgrimage fraud that has left a trail of broken promises and depleted life savings. Musa, who was arraigned on Thursday, August 13, 2026, pleaded not guilty to the charges bordering on forgery, uttering of documents, and stealing. The court subsequently remanded him in Agodi Correctional Centre and adjourned the case to August 17, 2026, for the hearing of his bail application.
The EFCC's case against Musa is as detailed as it is damning. According to the charges, between November 2, 2022, and July 22, 2024, Musa allegedly converted a total sum of N56,491,000 meant for the 2023 Hajj pilgrimage to his personal use. The funds had been entrusted to him by Ibrahim Shuaibu, who had collected the money from ten friends – Jibril Adamu, Suleiman Aminatu, Musa Haruna, Suleiman N. Abdullahi, Audu Bello, Yusuf Umaru, Saidu Musa, Idris Suleiman, Musa Yunusa, and Usman Haruna – all of whom are cattle breeders and rearers in the Oke-ogun area of Ibadan. The victims had pooled their resources, trusting Musa's claim that he worked for the Kaduna State Government and could facilitate their Hajj pilgrimage. But the pilgrimage never happened.
The EFCC's investigation revealed that Musa went beyond mere theft. In count two of the charges, he is accused of forging a Kaduna State Pilgrims Welfare Agency receipt numbered 0013041 in the name of Jibril Adamu. In another count, he allegedly uttered a receipt with number 012654 to the same victim, representing it as genuine. These acts of forgery and uttering of documents, according to the prosecution, were designed to give the victims false hope and conceal the fraud. The offences are said to contravene Sections 465, 467 and 468 of the Criminal Code Law, Cap 38, Laws of Oyo State, 2000.
The case of Lawal Babale Musa is not an isolated incident of pilgrimage fraud in Nigeria. In June 2026, the EFCC arraigned a couple, Dr. Yetunde Adams and Dr. Ayodeji Adams, over an alleged N47.7 million Hajj fraud. Earlier in the year, a woman was arrested for allegedly defrauding 23 intending pilgrims of N18.9 million in a fake 2025 Hajj package. These cases point to a disturbing pattern: fraudsters exploiting the deep spiritual longing of Muslims to perform the Hajj, one of the five pillars of Islam, to line their own pockets. The EFCC has consistently warned against falling for such schemes and urged intending pilgrims to verify the authenticity of any facilitator or travel agent before parting with their money.
For the ten victims from Oke-ogun, the dream of standing on the plains of Arafat and circling the Kaaba has been shattered. They have lost not just their money but also the spiritual fulfillment they had been saving for years. Justice Adetujoye has adjourned the case to August 17 for the hearing of the bail application, and Musa remains in custody. As the legal process unfolds, the victims and the public await the outcome of a case that serves as a cautionary tale: not every promise of a pilgrimage is a path to paradise.
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