The Economic and Financial Crimes Commission (EFCC) has received a petition from a civic group, Integrity Youths of Badagry West, accusing the former Chairman of Badagry West Local Council Development Area, Hon. Hennugbe Joseph Gbenu, of large-scale corruption, diversion of public funds and undisclosed acquisition of properties across Lagos.
A stamped acknowledgement slip issued by the EFCC on May 7, 2025, at 11:25 a.m. confirmed that the Commission had received the petition.Originally dated May 1, 2025, and addressed to the Department of State Services, the petition was signed by the group’s President, Ibraheem Semako, and contains detailed allegations, including addresses of properties, names of alleged collaborators and descriptions of financial activities said to have weakened development in the LCDA since 2021.
According to the petition, Hon. Gbenu, who began his second term in office on July 27, 2021, has allegedly run the council in a manner the group describes as idle, opaque and disconnected from governance. The document states that the Chairman reportedly attends office only at his convenience and is accused of acting “like an emperor” within the council secretariat.
Despite billions of naira in statutory allocations released to the LCDA between 2021 and 2025, the group alleges that only three visible projects can be traced to his administration: a six-classroom block at Emuko Primary School, a maternity centre at Boglo and a new administrative block at the council headquarters in Kankon.
The petition states that no new roads, water infrastructure, electrification projects, community interventions or public welfare programmes have been executed under his stewardship. It describes the current state of the LCDA as “pathetic” and inconsistent with the volume of federal allocations received within the four-year period.
A major portion of the petition lists properties the group alleges were acquired by Hon. Gbenu during his time in office, claiming that the assets were funded with council money and not declared in any known asset register. The properties listed include AP Fuel Station at Roundabout, Badagry; AP Fuel Station opposite Badagry Grammar School; OLASEDO Fuel Station at Iyana Iyafin along the Lagos–Badagry Expressway; a developing beach resort located after Sultan Beach on Seme Road; and a plot of land valued at more than forty-eight million naira at Y Junction, Dokoh, Badagry.
The group further alleges that the Chairman has been diverting part of the LCDA’s monthly allocation to his political mentor, Hon. Hontonyon Bamgbose, claiming the funds are used to finance political battles within Badagry and to sponsor anti-party activities, including litigation that reportedly extended to the Supreme Court after the 2019 primary election in which Bamgbose was defeated.
According to the petition, Bamgbose is said to receive a “large share” of the council’s finances, a situation the group argues has drained funds meant for development and community welfare.Integrity Youths of Badagry West also names three individuals—Sunday Josiah (also known as Achiever), Ajaneson Olajide and Wheto Meshack—whom they allege assist the Chairman in diverting funds, procuring properties and concealing ownership through unofficial channels.
The petition provides descriptions of their alleged roles within what the group describes as a coordinated financial network.The petition further claims that Hon. Gbenu and his associates are currently sponsoring the council’s Vice Chairman, Rauf Ibrahim Kayode Yemaren, also known as Rikay, as a successor, alleging that “large sums of council money” are being channelled into political mobilisation to secure Yemaren’s ambition.
The group describes this as an attempt to prevent future scrutiny of the alleged financial irregularities.The civic organisation states that the alleged diversion of funds has worsened local welfare conditions and denied residents access to basic amenities that the LCDA should ordinarily provide.
It cites the EFCC Act, the Corrupt Practices and Other Related Offences Act and provisions of the Nigerian Constitution, arguing that the alleged actions amount to offences against the people of Badagry West.
The group is requesting a full EFCC investigation into Hon. Gbenu and the individuals mentioned in the petition, an independent forensic audit of all LCDA accounts from July 2021 to date, a probe into all properties linked to the Chairman and the prosecution of anyone found culpable. Semako also expressed willingness to submit additional evidence, including photographs and further documentation, to assist investigators.
As at press time, Hon. Gbenu and the individuals named in the petition had not publicly responded to the allegations. The EFCC has also not issued a statement regarding whether a formal investigation has commenced.
