A Nigerian-American car dealer, Tobi Adegoke, has been remanded at the Kirikiri Maximum Security Correctional Centre in Lagos over an alleged $680,000 vehicle import fraud.
Justice Olubunmi Abike-Fadipe of the Special Offences Court in Ikeja ordered his remand on Friday after he pleaded not guilty to a one-count charge of stealing brought by the Economic and Financial Crimes Commission (EFCC).
The case centres on allegations that Tobi Adegoke collected money from a prospective buyer for the purchase of a luxury Mercedes-Benz G-Wagon but failed to deliver as agreed.
The EFCC reportedly arrested the defendant in July 2026 over an alleged cross-border scheme involving the purchase and shipment of luxury vehicles from the United States to Nigeria.
Investigators allegedly linked him to a US-based syndicate suspected of defrauding Nigerians seeking to buy vehicles abroad.
According to the commission, Adegoke allegedly circulated photographs of a 2024 Mercedes-Benz G63 AMG to prospective Nigerian buyers while claiming he could procure and ship the luxury vehicle.
Two victims were reportedly said to have paid more than $320,000, equivalent to about N434.88m, in connection with the transaction.
However, the charge before the court alleged that Adegoke dishonestly converted $680,000 belonging to Ikechukwu Osita Ifeabunike.
The money was allegedly transferred to the defendant’s company, Omosco Auto Sales LLC, for the purchase of a 2022 G-Wagon from a person identified as Mr Robinson.
The charge stated that the alleged offence occurred in Lagos in December 2024, within the Ikeja Judicial Division.
The EFCC is prosecuting Adegoke under Sections 278(1)(b) and 285(1)(a) of the Criminal Law of Lagos State, 2015.
Following his not-guilty plea, EFCC counsel, Arazeem Adebayo, urged the court to fix a date for trial and remand the defendant.
Defence counsel, Olalekan Abiodun, subsequently asked the court to keep his client in EFCC custody pending the filing of a bail application.
But Justice Abike-Fadipe rejected the request and ordered that Adegoke be taken to Kirikiri Maximum Security Correctional Centre.
The court adjourned the case until January 13, 2027, for the commencement of trial.
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