It is no longer news that on Wednesday, 9th July precisely, Justice Raliat Adebiyi of the Lagos State High Court, Ikeja, sentenced Alhaji Mohammed Gobir, a former director of Afromedia Plc, to seven years imprisonment for orchestrating what has been described as one of the most elaborate corporate fraud schemes in Nigeria’s outdoor advertising sector.
The conviction for fraud totaling over ₦300 million and other foreign exchange sum is a culmination of a years-long prosecution by the Economic and Financial Crimes Commission (EFCC).
The 17-count conviction, which includes charges of stealing, obtaining by false pretense, forgery, and possession of fraudulent documents has been described variously as a watershed moment for the industry.
The roots of this scandal is traced back to 2008, where, according to media reports, Mohammed Gobir, leveraging his connections as an associate of former Senate President Bukola Saraki, successfully ‘infiltrated’ Afromedia Plc through what has been described as an elaborate web of deception. Court documents reveal that Gobir fraudulently secured a seat on the company’s board by falsely claiming to possess $250 million in a London bank account and promising to invest $70 million into the outdoor advertising company.
What began as a seemingly legitimate business relationship quickly became a sophisticated extraction operation that would ultimately cost Afromedia hundreds of millions of naira. Over the course of his tenure, Gobir allegedly siphoned off a staggering $3.5 million, ₦514.4 million, $2.1 million, and £51,000 from company funds through various fraudulent schemes.
According to reports, EFCC investigation, which began following a damning petition from Afromedia Plc in 2016, revealed the intricate nature of Gobir’s deception. One of his most audacious claims involved requesting $250,000 to secure a waiver certificate to retrieve $250 million he claimed was being held by British anti-money laundering authorities in a UK bank, a claim Justice Adebiyi dismissed as “entirely fictitious and part of a deliberate ploy to mislead and defraud the company.”
Gobir’s arrest in September 2015 at his upscale Ikoyi residence marked the beginning of the end for what EFCC officials described as “one of the more elaborate financial frauds within Nigeria’s corporate boardrooms.”
What are some of the implications of this development? For years, the OOH sub-sector has struggled with issues such as undercapitalization, fragmented ownership, and informal practices. The Gobir case amplifies those concerns and reveals just how easy it is for smooth-talking individuals to exploit weak systems to commit large-scale theft dressed up as strategic investment.
The fallout from this case is not Afromedia’s burden alone. The entire IMC industry from agencies to media owners, regulators, and associations must view this judgment as a watershed moment.
As such, it is incumbent on agencies to consider the following key actions: agency boards must overhaul their approach to vetting directors, shareholders, and external financiers. Credentials should be audited by third parties and verified by financial institutions.
Secondly, the industry regulator, Advertising Regulatory Council of Nigeria (ARCON) must not only regulate content and operations but also collaborate with corporate governance bodies to ensure that marketing communication companies maintain strict compliance with the Companies and Allied Matters Act (CAMA), Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) codes, and other legal frameworks.
Also, the EFCC’s role in unraveling this fraud must be commended, but the IMC industry needs consistent education on how corporate frauds evolve. Seminars, anti-fraud audits, and compliance workshops should become standard in IMC firms’ corporate calendars.
Fourthly, there most be leadership accountability across boards. Afromedia’s previous and current board members must publicly account for their roles. Silence or vague explanations will not suffice in rebuilding stakeholder trust.
Now, while Gobir has been ordered to repay ₦123 million, it still falls far short of the total sum allegedly stolen. Industry leaders must demand that full restitution be pursued both for justice and deterrence.
Indeed, the IMC industry in Nigeria is no longer a cottage ecosystem. Instead, it has evolved into a billion-naira engine of creative and economic output. But this stature makes it a target. From fraudsters to fake investors, from insider dealings to lack of boardroom discipline, the risks are real and growing. This makes the Gobir saga more than a criminal case. With the industry is pushing for professionalism, digital advancement, data-driven decisions, and global competitiveness, this case is a humiliating throwback to everything it seeks to leave behind. If nothing else, this event reminds practitioners that brand integrity starts from board integrity.
Should the law take it’s full course, Mohammed Gobir will serve his sentence behind bars, but the IMC industry must serve its own time in introspection. The danger is not that Gobir succeeded, but that he was enabled by a system of trust without verification, ambition without accountability, and governance without discipline.