“No contract, no refund”: FCT Senator Ireti Kingibe reported…

Senator Ireti Kingibe, who represents the Federal Capital Territory, has been hauled before the Independent Corrupt Practices Commission over claims she took $65,000 – about N118 million at the time – from a businessman for a federal contract that never existed.

The petition, filed on April 27, 2026 by Barrister Elochukwu Obi on behalf of Nonso Okafor, calls on the ICPC Chairman to open an urgent investigation into the alleged abuse of office and recover the outstanding funds.

According to the petition, the saga began in October 2024 when Kingibe’s senior legislative assistant, Osereme Omofoma, contacted Okafor. The aide allegedly asked for help raising $100,000 to cover the senator’s “urgent financial needs,” with one promise: repay the full amount, or Kingibe would use his office to facilitate federal contracts so Okafor could recover the money.

Okafor was reluctant. He didn’t have the money. But the petition says Omofoma has applied “tremendous pressure”, prompting the businessman to ask friends for loans to meet demand.

Okafor raised $65,000 – borrowed “at exorbitant interest rates” – and paid it to Kingibe in two installments in October 2024. He was told a contract would be concluded within weeks.

“After payment, our client unnecessarily waited well beyond the expected timeframe for promised contracts, but nothing materialized,” the petition reads.

Months passed. No contract. Then “our client realized that there was no contract for him and that he had simply been deceived,” the document added.

When Okafor asked for a refund, the petition claims the senator’s position shifted from silence to denial. “The senator not only refused to refund the money, but also began actively claiming that she had not received any money from our client,” it reads.

Cut off by Kingibe, Okafor insisted on Omofoma. After threatening to involve law enforcement, the petition states that the senator’s camp “reluctantly decided to unilaterally pay only N50,000,000 out of the total $65,000 (N118,000,000)”. The payment occurred in May 2025.

At the October 2024 exchange rate, Okafor’s $65,000 was equivalent to 118 million naira. The reimbursement of N50 million left a deficit of N68 million.

“After this, Senator Kingibe and her assistant attempted to force our client to accept the payment as full and final, by threatening to arrest him if he refused to waive the balance,” the petition reads.

Okafor refused. “Our client has continued to peacefully press for completion of his money, which remains N68,000,000. All subsequent appeals for payment have fallen on deaf ears,” he said.

The petitioner now believes that the proposed contract was a trap. “Our client believes that there were no contracts for the Senator to facilitate. Instead, the contract facilitation was a deceptive device used to fraudulently collect money from him, with no intention of returning it,” the petition concluded.

The ICPC has not yet commented. Senator Kingibe did not respond to the allegations.

From emergency loans to alleged fraud, the question before the anti-corruption body is tough: Did a sitting senator sell access to contracts that didn’t exist?

Related