By Okechukwu Nwanguma
In December 2024, the Rule of Law and Accountability Advocacy Centre (RULAAC) submitted a detailed petition to the Nigerian Senate, calling for an urgent investigation into serious allegations involving a suspected serial fraudster, Mrs. Titilayo Mary Eboh, and her associates—allegedly operating in collusion with compromised officers of the Nigeria Police and the Economic and Financial Crimes Commission (EFCC). Seven months later, the Senate remains silent.
The facts are disturbing. This is not a case of minor financial mismanagement or simple fraud. It is a sprawling web of criminal activity, reportedly involving billions of naira in FOREX scams, repeat victims across states, and the apparent protection of the main suspect by operatives within law enforcement who are accused of bribery, extortion, and obstruction of justice.
The story of Mr. Chinedu Ngwaka, a Lagos-based bureau de change operator, is just one of many. After reportedly being defrauded of over ₦3 billion by Mrs. Eboh in a failed FOREX transaction, Ngwaka filed complaints with the EFCC and the Police Intelligence Response Team (IRT). But instead of justice, he got persecution. He was arrested, his and his wife’s bank accounts were frozen, his vehicle was seized, and he was allegedly extorted of ₦6 million for bail by officers at FCID Alagbon. When he exposed the extortion, he was publicly paraded in the media as a fraudster—without trial, and in breach of his right to presumption of innocence.
RULAAC’s petition to the Senate Committee on Ethics, Code of Conduct and Public Petitions, led by Senator Neda Usman, laid out all of this in detail. It cited not just Ngwaka’s case, but multiple other victims—including a female banker in Anambra who allegedly lost ₦300 million of her clients’ funds to Mrs. Eboh. The banker, introduced to Eboh by her own bank manager, suffered immense trauma and has contemplated suicide due to the shame and pressure.
Despite these allegations—and the broader implications for national security, investor confidence, and public trust—the Senate has failed to hold even a single hearing. Not one question has been asked. Not one official response has been issued.
Why?
The National Assembly, and especially the Senate, has a constitutional mandate to check abuse, investigate corruption, and stand up for citizens. But when it fails to act on well-substantiated complaints from citizens and civil society groups, it becomes complicit—either through willful neglect or deliberate protection of vested interests.
The allegations involving Mrs. Eboh go beyond personal fraud. They speak to a larger crisis of institutional rot: law enforcement agents who shield criminals, extort victims, and undermine justice. These are not isolated incidents; they are symptoms of a system where power protects impunity, and the vulnerable are punished for speaking up.
The Senate cannot claim ignorance. The petition was formally submitted, acknowledged, and supported by documentary evidence. The silence that has followed is not just a dereliction of duty—it is an indictment of a legislature that too often looks away when the powerful prey on the powerless.
We therefore renew our call:
The Senate must investigate the serial fraud allegations against Mrs. Titilayo Eboh and the alleged role of her associates and law enforcement collaborators.
The Inspector-General of Police and the Chairman of the EFCC must be required to submit reports of all past and present investigations involving her.
The Senate must direct a review of the actions of FCID Alagbon, including account freezes, property seizures, and the ₦6 million extortion claim.
Victims must receive justice, and implicated officers must face disciplinary or criminal consequences.
Nigeria cannot continue to claim it fights corruption while shielding the corrupt. The credibility of the National Assembly is on the line. If it cannot act in the face of overwhelming evidence and public interest, then what is its purpose?
The time to act is now.
– Okechukwu Nwanguma, Executive Director, Rule of Law and Accountability Advocacy Centre (RULAAC)
