…OPENS TWO BANK ACCOUNTS TO SIPHON PLEDGES, PRINT OWN EMBLEM
By Okosun Dennis
Corruption, maladministration, lies and forgery at the Nigerian Legion (Lagos State chapter), allegedly orchestrated by its Chairman, DCG Akeem Olawale Wolimoh is tearing the organisation apart.
More facts have emerged how he has been mismanaging the establishment.
As a result, some Area Council Executives have been battling with DCG Wolimoh, whom they claimed have misappropriated various sums of money realized from sale of emblems and pledges by the Lagos State government.
He has also been printing emblems for sale, and giving the franchise to about 100 recruited representatives while each person remits N135,000.
Investigations, however, revealed that during the Emblem Appeal Week – which is ongoing – the emblem was printed by the Ministry of Veteran Affairs, Abuja and distributed to state headquarters for sale to generate fund for running of their internal affairs.
However, it was learnt that since he became the Chairman Lagos State Council, DCG Wolimoh has been lording it over other Area Council Executives, thereby running the affairs of the State Council as a private business enterprise.
This has generated a lot of cacophony and animosity within the State Council Executives.
As this continue to fester, things have started falling apart leading to several petitions to the Headquarters, Nigerian Legion, Abuja under the former Chairman, Major General Jibril Abdulmalik (retd), who refused to take appropriate steps to settle the rift.
The State Chairman, who is accused of using diverse means and manipulations to suppress other executives, has met brick walls.
Their unrelenting approach has led to more emerging facts which indicated that despite Nigerian Legion (Lagos chapter) operates three different official bank accounts in First Bank Polaris Bank and Wema Bank, DCG Wolimoh has opened other accounts.
However, to sustain his dubious acts and continue to divert money from the coffers of Legion, he operates two secret accounts identified as: “Nigerian Legion: Union Bank with account Number: 0084745881” and “Veterans Procurement Services Limited domiciled with First City Monument Bank (FCMB), with Account Number: 1011039684”. They are used for money laundering and diversion of fund.
As a result of these spiralling allegations, it was uncovered that a five-man Board of Inquiry (BOI) was convened by the Nigerian Legion, National Headquarters in Abuja, to investigate the activities of the Chairman, Nigerian Legion, Lagos State chapter. The committee sat from 20th to 24th October, 2025. Attempt to get details of the reports has not been possible.
However, it was learnt that the BOI has submitted its report to Nigerian Legion, National Headquarters, Abuja under the leadership of Ms Grace Morenike Henry and other relevant ministries.
When the National Chairman, Ms Grace Morenike Henry was contacted, she instructed our correspondent to forward his petition to the Ministry of Defence.
Further investigation revealed that DCG Wolimoh’s leadership is pushing the Nigerian Legion, Lagos chapter into an abyss. To the extent that if urgent steps are not initiated to save the soul of the chapter from the current chairman, things might disintegrate.
Emerging facts revealed that there are flagrant disregards to ethics and professional standards which are the core values of Nigerian Legion. Just as his leadership style runs contrary to the Nigerian Legion Act, a source maintained.
It was also learnt that in the recruitment and training of civilian commissionaires, DCG Wolimoh does not carry along other State Council members and has been excluding them in the decision making. This further confirms the allegation that he drives and runs the affairs of the Nigerian Legion Lagos chapter as his private enterprise.
When contacted to respond to damning allegations against him and how he has single-handed ran the affairs of the Legion, Lagos State Chapter, DCG Akeem Olawale Wolimoh castigated those local council executives as “agitators, who are not only ‘outsiders’, but have ulterior motive, selfish and have no other thing they intend to achieve.”
“No member of the state council does not know how the money is spent. They want to call me a bad name in order to hang me. Anybody that has evidence that the State Chairman is misappropriating fund pledged by the Lagos state government should come forward with it.”
He denied floating fictitious accounts in Union and FCMB to defraud the Legion but accepted that a WEMA bank account was opened at the instance of one of their clients who requested for such bank to disburse money to them for services rendered.
“These people wrote petitions to Economic and Financial Crimes and Commission (EFCC), Department of State Service (DSS), 81 Division, Nigerian Army, Lagos, Zone 2 Headquarters, Onikan, but we were advised to settle the matter within and we have settled that amicably.
He also castigated the Area Council Executives, especially the agitators whose names were not mentioned as responsible for various allegations against him.
According to DCG Wolimoh, those complaining “Don’t have a single beat, no business to generate income and they want to feed fat from income from the state. The Legion Act says “every council shall be renumerated based on the capacity to generate revenue”, Wolimoh explained.
However, he acknowledged that emblem is printed by the Veteran Affairs Ministry and distributed to state for sale to generate income.
Unfortunately, he explained, “any state that can do it cheaper somewhere can.” Adding that “it’s only the court that can determine the rightness or wrongness if such situation arises,” he reiterated.
Wolimoh denied vehemently that he is using a fake Nigerian Army Discharge Certificate and was not issued Pension Advise by the Military Pensions Board (MPB), and Nigerian Army Discharge Identity Card. Again, he said he had not been using fake certificate.
Rhetorically, he questioned: “Can it be true that a person of my pedigree; who interact with Senior military officers and Commanders will forge certificate?
It was learnt that every year that the Governor of Lagos State made a pledge to the Nigerian Legion to assist Veterans, there are hawks and vultures that feast on the money. Government officials in Alausa, according to sources, take about 40 percentage from the total amount.
“In 2024, they collected N20.5m out of the N50m pledged. In 2025, they collected N35m out of the N75m pledge. Only God knows how much they will collect from the N100m pledged few days ago by Governor Babajide Sanwo-Olu. We wouldn’t be amazed if they take their normal 40%,” the source said.
Another source also told our correspondent that DCG Akeem Wolimoh parts with about 40% to get the money from the Home Affairs Ministry, Alausa. Although the names of officers involved were not disclosed, it was gathered that Wolimoh has kept those names to his chest and refused to disclose it to Council executives despite their insistence.
When he was further confronted with these allegations, he said: “it is not for me to discuss that but anyone that has evidence on the percentage paid should produce it. In addition, they should identify the person that is collecting the percentage.”
It would be recalled that in the time past, a petition dated 4th December, 2023 accused DCG Olawale Wolimoh of “embezzlement, looting and gross misappropriation of Nigerian Legion Lagos State funds.”
He was also accused of duping the Council Manager of Ejigbo Local Council Development Area (LCDA) of N3,000,000 meant to procure arms for the council safety and protection.
Investigation had revealed that the Accountant of the Council paid N3,000,000 to DCG Wolimoh for the procurement and delivery of firearms.
It was learnt that the said amount was paid in August 2023, but he failed to deliver on promise thereby denting the image of the Nigerian Legion.
Despite concerted efforts to get a refund by the council, the council has not been able to make DCG Wolimoh refund the amount.
In the said petition made available to our Correspondent by 10 State Council Executives titled “Allegation of Incessant Embezzlement, Loot, and Gross Misappropriation of Public Funds, Threat and Intimidation…against DCG Wolimoh Olawale Akeem,” the legionnaire had demanded immediate arrest, investigation and prosecution of Wolimoh for various infractions.
Consequent upon the call for investigation into the financial misappropriation, the State Council on 11th December, 2023 passed a “Vote of no Confidence” and subsequently impeached him.
At the moment, the coast is not clear when the implementation of the BOI reports of the investigation served the chairman, Nigerian Legion, Lagos chapter will happen.
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