On April 2, the Federal Bureau of Investigations (FBI) took Ifediora Oli, a dual citizen of Nigeria and the United States, into custody for his alleged involvement in defrauding the District of Columbia public transit system. Mr. Oli, 41, is accused of collaborating with two individuals to exploit a Covid-19 testing kit contract valued at over half a million dollars.
According to documents obtained by Peoples Gazette, Mr. Oli hastily arranged travel to Nigeria for himself, his partner, and his daughter upon learning of a criminal investigation into his handling of a $659,000 contract to supply pandemic testing kits to the District of Columbia’s Department of Forensic Sciences (DFS).
FBI Special Agent Deborah Frye gathered evidence for the complaint filed in the U.S. District Court for the District of Columbia, leading to Mr. Oli’s arrest at his Silver Spring, Maryland, residence.
Allegedly, Mr. Oli, employed by the U.S. Department of Agriculture, operated an illicit side business named Highbury Global Group, Inc. He is accused of colluding with a longtime friend (co-conspirator 1), an employee of Metropolitan Transit Authority “WMATA,” and co-conspirator 2 (the romantic partner of co-conspirator 1) to secure and profit from the government contract, a violation of American law.
Co-conspirator 2, known as BriBri, worked as a contract specialist at the Office of Contracting and Procurement (OCP), where she allegedly influenced the selection of Mr. Oli’s Highbury company for the contract bid and received illicit payments.
Mr. Oli allegedly wired $145,000 to co-conspirator 1, instructing him to give co-conspirator 2 $15,000 in cash, violating U.S. law prohibiting District employees from benefiting from awarded contracts.
Represented by Nigerian-American criminal defence attorney John Iweanoge, Mr. Oli faces prosecution by U.S. Attorney Timothy Visser for depriving the U.S. government of money and honest services.
