Benin Club: Home of Golf, Home of Fraud

By Isibor Mathew

The Benin Club Golf Section formerly referred to as the home of golf now prides itself as the home of fraud as the captain Mr Stephen Ebaretonbofa, a staff of Seplat (formerly Mobil), is bent on hiding the fraud perpetrated by members of his executive committee.

Mr. Stephen Ebaretonbofa who keep boasting and telling some few members how he has settled the police and the EFCC to stop the investigation of Bar. Emmanuel Usoh over his fraudulent involvement in submitting forged receipts and converting money belonging to the section for his personal use, has once again kept the full detail of the so called investigative committee headed by Barr. Lawson Ugiagbe to himself without publishing the full details of the reports.

Mr Stephen Ebaretonbofa, who boasted to some members that he gave the DPO of Textile Mill Police station the sum of three hundred and fifty thousand(#350,000) to give am interim report in favour of Bar. Usoh has equally been boasting of how he his going to settle the EFCC to scuttle the investigation of Barr Emmanuel Usoh.

The captain, believed by some members to have been part of the Sienna fraud perpetrated by Bar. Emmanuel Usoh where he allegedly got a kickback according to our sources, who does not want to be mentioned, is fighting to make sure the petition by Air Vice Marshal Hassan Aliyu Rtd is not investigated

In the last few days, another lawyer in the committee, Mr. Mgbodi who happens to be the secretary of the investigative committee, has been going around town telling members that the petition submitted to the committee were too watery to be considered hence nothing was found against Bar. Usoh and the section’s accountant.

Bar. Mgbodi should tell members of the section how they got a signed statement by Bar.Usoh which was not signed by Bar. Usoh when he posted same on the section’s WhatsApp forum on the 11th of April 2025 and the total amount on the receipts submitted by Bar. Usoh against the amount collected from the section.

The same committee agreed it was wrong for Bar. Usoh to have warehoused the section’s funds in a private account but didn’t go further to check how much was transferred to Bar. Usoh from the money and the value of the total receipts submitted to the general house as the cost of repairs of the Sienna bus.

Calls logs between Bar. Usoh and Jerry, the parts seller, shows Bar. Usoh has been speaking to Jerry about this development to assist him in covering up the fraud.

Our sources equally informed us that Bar. Usoh was equally involved in prevailing on Bar. Oiwoh, a former NBA chairman in Edo state, to represent Jerry at the Textile Mill Police where he stated that all money paid to him were done by cash while investigation by the disciplinary committee of the section showed Jerry was paid by bank transfers from the section’s accountant.

Bar. Emmanuel Usoh, who wrote a fraudulent letter of non indebtedness to himself in 2024 when he was owning the section a total sum of over #288,000 claimed a past captain of the section Mr Joseph Idahosa told him to do that.

Did the committee request for the statement of account of Mr Emmanuel Aondoaver, the section’s accountant?

Did the committee requested for the statement of account of Barr Emmanuel Usoh?

Did the committee verify if receipts were forged on the instructions of Barr Emmanuel Usoh and why he submitted forged receipts to members of the section?

Some members have officially contacted the EFCC to carry out a full investigation of the fraud at the golf section that has been supported by the president of the club Dr Isibor Evbaziegbere with a follow up letter been written to Seplat Nigeria Ltd on the activities of their staff Stephen Ebaretonbofa is stalling fraud investigation at the golf section.

Information from a reliable source told our reporter that a petition against the misconduct of the DPO of Textile mill police station has been submitted to the Police service commission and the Commissioner of police Edo state command who has taken over full investigation of the crime reported by Air Vice Marshal Hassan Aliyu and to know why an interim report was issued without completing investigation.