Nigerian mining tycoon Innocent Ezuma arrested over alleged $120 million fraud

Nigeria's Economic and Financial Crimes Commission has arrested Abuja businessman Innocent Ozoemena Ezuma over allegations that he defrauded a Ukrainian investor of more than $120 million over nearly two decades.

Ezuma, 57, was arrested at his home in Abuja on Monday and remained in the commission's custody on Tuesday, EFCC spokesman Dele Oyewale said. Oyewale confirmed the arrest but declined to give details of the investigation. Ezuma has not been charged in court.

Investigators allege that between 2007 and 2015, Ezuma collected tens of millions of dollars from the investor to fund mineral exploration and power projects in Nigeria that were never carried out, and that he diverted the money for his own use. The commission is examining possible offenses including advance fee fraud, criminal breach of trust, criminal conversion, obtaining money by false pretenses, theft and money laundering, according to people familiar with the case.

The arrest followed cooperation with investigators abroad and information from whistle-blowers inside Ezuma's organization, the people said. The Ukrainian investor has not been named.

Money sent to family

Investigators are also tracing billions of naira that moved from Ezuma to companies and people linked to him, including his children.

One of the companies under scrutiny is Battregen Ltd., which is controlled by his 28-year-old son, Bogdan Ekene Ezuma. Between February and April 2025, Battregen received 1.365 billion naira ($1 million) in what were described as loans, even though the company reported no revenue, investigators found. In July 2025, the son received a further 953 million naira ($716,000), of which he later returned 90 million naira.

Payments of 48 million naira to 50 million naira, or about $36,000 to $38,000, also went to Ezuma's 26-year-old daughter and to a relative who is also a business associate. Investigators found no clear business purpose for any of the transfers.

The investor's businesses suffered heavy losses after Russia's full-scale invasion of Ukraine in 2022. Investigators allege that Ezuma later pursued mineral and energy deals through Inter RAO UES, a Russian state-controlled power company.

The Jos steel mill

The EFCC is also looking at Ezuma's role in the privatization of the Jos Steel Rolling Mill in Plateau State in the mid-2000s. Investigators allege that he persuaded two Ukrainian businessmen to pay for the purchase of the state-owned mill, then took sole control of it, stripped its assets and left hundreds of workers unpaid.

The commission has asked members of the public and Ezuma's former business associates who have information on his dealings to come forward.