Adeolu Adeboye files suit to block arrest over abandoned N8b Kaduna road project

Adeolu Adeboye, the son of the General Overseer of the Redeemed Christian Church of God (RCCG), Pastor Enoch Adeboye, has sued the Kaduna State Government and the State House of Assembly to prevent his arrest and detention over an alleged abandoned road contract worth N8 billion, which was secured under former Governor Nasir El-Rufai’s administration.

Reports claimed that Adeolu and his wife secured the contract through Ronchess Global Resources Plc during El-Rufai’s administration, but only executed 30 per cent of the contract for which funds were paid, leaving the project unfinished.

The total contract sum stood at N17.26 billion, out of which N8 billion was said to have been disbursed.

However, a document seen by The Guardian indicated that the RCCG GO’s son was not part of the deal when it was signed. According to the document, the period of the contract is 18 months and the expected completion date was January 2, 2021. Meanwhile, the contract was awarded to Ronchess Global Resources Plc on September 15, 2020, so Adeboye’s son, who was appointed Chairman of the Board of Ronchess on April 13, 2021 was not part of that contract in question

However, following the Kaduna State Government and House of Assembly’s probe into the alleged fraud, the cleric’s son filed the suit (FHC/L/CS/1206/24) at the Federal High Court in Lagos.

Adeolu also sought an injunction restraining the Economic and Financial Crimes Commission (EFCC), the Kaduna State Government, and the House of Assembly from arresting or detaining him over the abandoned project.

The EFCC, Inspector General of Police, Assistant Inspector General of Police, Commissioner of Police, Lagos State Command, Kaduna State Government, and Kaduna State House of Assembly are the 1st to 6th Respondents, respectively.

“Besides, the Kaduna State House of Assembly team inspected the Wusasa to Danmagaji Nagoyi Road project site (Kaduna North Local Government Area) on May 16, 2024, at 4:47 pm.

“They found the site abandoned by Ronchess Global Resources Plc, owned by Adeolu Adeboye,” a state government source told some journalists.

He said that the project is an 8km road in Zaria, adding “though N8,195,014,236.95 had been paid for the project, the job was only 30 percent completed before being abandoned by the cleric’s son.”

“The period of the contract is 18 months, and the expected completion date was January 2, 2021,” he further said.

Already, the former Governor El-Rufai has been indicted by the Kaduna State House of Assembly for siphoning the sum of N423 billion from the government treasury during his 8-year tenure in the State.