Two Nigerian businessmen, Akuboh Victor Uneojo and Innocent O. Diyoke including Diyoke's firm, Diyokes Consultants Limited have been banned by World B
Two Nigerian businessmen, Akuboh Victor Uneojo and Innocent O. Diyoke including Diyoke’s firm, Diyokes Consultants Limited have been banned by World Bank for fraud and corruption.
This is according to data from the bank’s website on persons and firms debarred and ineligible to participate in World Bank-financed contracts for the periods indicated.
The sanctions, which range from one to two years, showed the World Bank’s commitment to maintaining integrity within its operations.
Uneojo, based in Abuja, FCT, was banned from participating in World Bank projects for a period of two years, effective from March 12, 2024, to April 11, 2026. This sanction follows findings of corrupt practices linked to Uneojo.
A document by the World Bank providing notes on the sanctions read:
“The period of ineligibility for Mr. Akuboh Victor Uneojo (“Mr. Akuboh”) extends to any legal entity that he directly or indirectly controls. The minimum period of ineligibility is the two-year-one-month period indicated in the posting above; provided, however, that after this minimum period of ineligibility of two years and one month, Mr. Akuboh may be released from ineligibility only if he has demonstrated to the World Bank Group’s Integrity Compliance Officer that he has complied with the following conditions:
“(a) he has taken appropriate remedial measures to address the sanctionable practice for which he has been sanctioned; (b) he has completed training and/or other educational programs that demonstrate a continuing commitment to personal integrity and business ethics; and (c) any entity that is an Affiliate directly or indirectly controlled by him has adopted and implemented, in a manner satisfactory to the Bank, integrity compliance measures as may be imposed by the World Bank Group’s Integrity Compliance Officer (e.g., an integrity compliance program or elements thereof) to address the sanctionable practice.”
Similarly, Diyokes Consultants Limited, a firm based in Enugu State, and its principal, Diyoke, were banned for fraudulent practices. Both the firm and Diyoke face a ban from March 11, 2024, to September 10, 2025.
According to a separate document on the case involving Diyokes Consultants, Diyokes Consultants Limited and its principal, Diyoke, they were involved in a fraudulent case related to the Nigeria Erosion and Watershed Management Project, NEWMAP.
The project, funded by the World Bank, is aimed to reduce vulnerability to soil erosion in targeted areas in Nigeria. The firm, part of a joint venture, was awarded a contract for engineering design and supervision of erosion control sites in Abia State.
The case arose from allegations by the World Bank’s Integrity Vice Presidency that the firm and its managing director engaged in fraudulent practices during both the selection and execution phases of the contract.
Specifically, they were accused of misrepresenting the involvement of a joint venture partner and falsely confirming the availability of key staff members for the project.
These staff members were subsequently replaced without notifying or obtaining authorization from the project management unit, the Abia State Project Management Unit, Abia SPMU, as required.
The World Bank’s Sanctions Board found that Diyokes Consultants Limited and Diyoke knowingly or recklessly misled the Abia SPMU to secure financial benefits from the contract.
As a result, the Sanctions Board imposed a debarment with conditional release on both the firm and its managing director, effective for a minimum of one year and six months from March 11, 2024.
The sanctions render them ineligible to participate in any World Bank-financed projects during this period.
