Oyo State High Court Awards Over N30 Million in Total Damages to Contractor Maliciously Detained in Federal School Feeding Fraud Case

Oyo High Court clears Emmanuel Olulola of school feeding fraud, awarding over N31m in damages against the EFCC, Police, FCMB, and his former partner.

By: AXL Media

Published: Mar 18, 2026, 6:38 AM EDT

Source: The information in this article was sourced from Independent Newspapers

Legal Victory Ends Years of Litigation Over Federal School Feeding Contract

A High Court sitting in Ibadan, Oyo State, has finally brought closure to a legal battle spanning nearly a decade by awarding substantial damages to Mr. Emmanuel Olulola. The Managing Director of Peerless Innovation Limited had been at the center of a malicious prosecution case involving the federal government’s school feeding program. The court’s decision effectively clears Olulola of all embezzlement allegations, which first surfaced in 2017 following a partnership dispute over a contract to supply bread to schools across the state.

Origin of the Dispute: A Joint Venture Gone Sour

The legal ordeal began in 2017 when Olulola entered an agreement with Mr. Daniel Nwafor to utilize Nwafor’s company, Unified Support Global Services Limited, to bid for a lucrative supply contract. While Olulola claimed to be the operational lead and "brain" behind the project, the partnership dissolved into acrimony. Nwafor subsequently reported Olulola to the authorities, alleging the embezzlement of project funds. The court, however, later determined that Unified Support Global Services Limited’s role was strictly limited to receiving and disbursing funds to Olulola for execution, rather than managing the project's internal finances.

Systemic Breach of Fundamental Rights by Law Enforcement

The judicial review highlighted a series of aggressive actions by law enforcement agencies that violated Olulola’s constitutional rights. On November 25, 2018, the police arrested Olulola and impounded his vehicle. The pressure intensified in October 2019 when the Economic and Financial Crimes Commission (EFCC) intervened, freezing his personal and business accounts and detaining him for four days. Justice M.O. Ishola ruled that these actions constituted a breach of fundamental rights, as the agencies relied on unsubstantiated claims to freeze assets and restrict Olulola’s movement for several years.