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Tag: businessman

  • My abductors tied my eyes for nine days – Businessman

    My abductors tied my eyes for nine days – Businessman

    A businessman, Mr. Chukwudi Obi, on Tuesday told an Enugu High Court that three suspects abducted him and tied his face with cloth for nine days.

    Narrating the incident, Obi said that the suspects followed him as he left a restaurant and dragged him into a vehicle and took him to an unknown place with a gun pointed at him.

    He said that they collected his valuables which included a wristwatch, a wedding ring, a chain and money and later covered his face.

    The victim said that they kept him in a room for nine days without food and water, adding that they tied his legs and hands and were slapping him with a cutlass as he screamed for help. Obi said that the suspects later demanded for N80 million ransom from his family but settled for N5 million after negotiations.

    He said that it was in the process of collecting the money that his elder brother identified one of the suspects while he identified another one through his voice.

    He said that the suspects took him in a car booth on the ninth day, handed him a naira note and dropped him in a bush where he managed to untie himself.

    Obi said that he crawled till he got to a road where a motorcyclist took him to Eke in Udi Local Government Area.

    The suspects, Ejike Ezenabo, Paul Okwudili and Chidi Okereke pleaded not guilty to the charges bothering on robbery and unlawful detention of the victim. Justice Catherine Nwobodo adjourned the matter till Feb. 29 for continuation of hearing.

     

  • Gunmen kill businessman in Ebonyi

    Gunmen kill businessman in Ebonyi

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    Gunmen on Wednesday shot a businessman to death in Amasiri, Afikpo North local government area of Ebonyi State.

    The hoodlums numbering four had robbed a warehouse in the neighborhood before proceeding to the shop of the businessman to shoot him.

    The businessman was rushed to the hospital where he was confirmed dead.

    An eyewitness, Amadi Clement said the hoodlums shot sporadically to scare people away before they proceeded with their robbery operation.

    “When Afikpo Divisional Police command was contacted, a team of policemen stormed the area but the robbers had shot someone and robbed the warehouse before the arrival of the policemen”, he added.

    Spokesman of the Police, ASP George Okafor confirmed the incident.

    He debunked reports that the hoodlums robbed a warehouse and other shops.

    The spokesman, however, claimed that a team of policemen from the area command and safer highway repelled the robbery attack on some shops in the area.

    He said one person was shot by the hoodlums and that the victim died on the way to hospital.

    The robbers, he said, took to their heels on sighting the police.

  • Businessman escapes death

    It was a lucky day for Ekele Okpara, an Ohiya Umuahia-based business man as he escaped death by the whiskers. He was shot at by unknown gunmen, wounding him in the process.

    The victim, who narrated his story to newsmen on his hospital bed said he was returning from a business trip when he saw five men in what looked like uniform of security men standing on a jeep at Bende Road at Nkata Ibeku.

    Okpara said he reasoned that the five men standing beside the SUV car were up for something sinister.

    He said: “When I saw the five men, my inner mind urged me to stop and turn back, but the other urged me to go ahead as they might be policemen on duty. Probably, if I had obeyed the promptings of my mind, I would not be in this situation.”

    The victim said when he approached the men, he heard them shout ‘stop’ and immediately they started shooting and their bullets tore his stomach and his intestines gushed out.

    Okpara said when they saw blood gushing out from his stomach, they felt that he has died. They quickly entered into the waiting SUV and sped off.

    “I started shouting for help which attracted passersby who took me to the hospital,” he said.

    He said his shout attracted a woman who was passing by and who came to his rescue and drove him in his car to a nearby hospital where doctors carried out surgery on him.

    He said: “When the woman came close and saw me, I pleaded with her to drive me to any nearby hospital. However, the only problem facing us at that point was that she said that she had never driven an automatic car before, but I encouraged her and told her what to do.”

    A close friend of Ekele at the hospital who is also a businessman at Ohiya in Umuahia South who was with him shortly before the incident said having bought kerosene at a filing station, Ekele had asked him to take the kerosene to his (Ekele’s) family for use.

    The friend, who spoke to Southeast Report in confidence, said he was saved by providence as he would have been in the car during the time of the incident. “I would have been in the car with him; and I was saved by the special grace of God,” he said.

    He explained that several bullets were removed from Ekele’s intestines by the doctors.

    “The things that were removed from his stomach could fill a litre of water, including the bullets,” he said.

    When contacted, the Police Public Relations Officer of Abia State Command of the Nigerian Police, Ezekiel Udeviotu denied any knowledge of the incident, but promised to confirm later.

     

  • Businessman sues bank N200m

    Businessman sues bank N200m

    A real estate investor, Mr. Ignay Nwene, has filed a suit at the Lagos State High Court over his inability to register his interest and take possession of a property at 18 Shagamu Avenue, Ilupeju.

    He is seeking N200 million as damages for losses suffered due to a caveat placed on the property by a mortgagor.

    The plaintiff said by virtue of a Deed of Tripartite Legal Mortgage among Onyi Nigeria Limited (borrower), Blessing Onyi  Okwuokei (mortgagor) and Guarantee Trust Bank Plc dated December 8, 2011 and registered at the Land Registry, Alausa, a legal mortgage interest was created over the property.

    The plaintiff said the mortgagor defaulted in servicing a loan granted him by GTBank, following which the bank put out the property for sale.

    Nwene said he bought the property for N39million and spent over N5.1million as fees for the governor’s consent.

    “The defendant also executed and supplied to the claimant other documents required for the claimant to apply for and process the governor’s consent in respect of the said sale.

    “The claimant had passed through or scaled all the stages of the perfection and was at the final state of registration of his said interest, when it was discovered that Okwuokei had caused a caveat/caution dated May 9, 2014 to be put on the Certificate of Occupancy, thus effectively shutting out the claimant from registering his interest in the said property and also prevented the claimant from taking possession of the said property,” the plaintiff said.

    But the defendant (GTBank) averred that as at the time of the sale, there was no caveat registered at the Land Registry against the property.

    “The caveat was entered over a year after the property in question was transferred to the claimant, the defendant having delivered the requisite documents on the property to the defendant via a letter dated March 27, 2013,” the bank said.

    The defendant added it did all it was required to do and cannot be blamed for the plantiff’s inability to perfect his title or take possession.  The case, which is before Justice Oyindamola  Ogala, has been adjourned to January 26.

     

  • Businessman charges EFCC with contempt of court

    A businessman, Jide Adelakun, has accused the Economic and Financial Crimes Commission (EFCC) of disobeying orders made by the Federal High Court in Lagos.

    Adelakun said both the bank and EFCC were served with the Court order, but that the commission was yet to unfreeze his accounts with Skye Bank, Adeola Hopewell, Victoria Island branch.

    “What is now the meaning of the ‘rule of law’ when certain government parastatals believe they are above the law and courts are not to be obeyed?” he asked.

    He said he met with the commission’s head of legal department so as to get his accounts unfrozen, still the orders were allegedly not obeyed as he is still unable to access his accounts. Instead, he said he was threatened and intimidated.

    Justice Mohammed Yunusa, in a judgment on September 23, declared Adelakun’s arrest and detention from July 3 to 8, as illegal and unconstitutional.

    He held that the commission’s freezing of the applicant’s accounts without court order was unlawful, null and void.

    Justice Yunusa ordered the respondents to unfreeze/unblock the accounts forthwith.

    He restrained EFCC from freezing Adelakun’s accounts or doing anything that may deny him “unhindered, unfettered access to the funds” in his accounts.

    The judge also restrained the commission from arresting or detaining the applicant “in connection with mere suspicion and unfounded speculation.”

    The commission was also directed to release his seized property. He and his company, Touch of Fame Energy Limited, had sought the enforcement of their fundamental rights.

    He has, therefore, filed Form 48 (Notice of Consequence of Disobedience of Court Order) against EFCC’s chairman Ibrahim Lamorde.

    The form reads: “Take notice that unless you obey the directions contained in this Court order, you will be guilty of contempt of Court and be liable to be committed to prison.”

    Justice Yunusa had held that EFCC did not obtain a court order before detaining Adelakun, adding that keeping him beyond 24hours violated his rights.

    “The respondent admitted arresting the applicant, but he was not arrested with a warrant of arrest. No arrest warrant was exhibited. For an arrest to be valid there must be a warrant. The respondent (EFCC) acted irrationally.

  • Kogi: Faleke good as Audu’s runningmate, says businessman

    The emergence of House of Representatives member, James Faleke as the running mate to the All Progressives Congress (APC) candidate in Kogi State, Prince Abubakar Audu, has been described as a good omen in the confluence state.

    The Chief Executive (CEO) of Grandure Mobile Tent, Mr. Wemi Jones, who made the remark, noted that his selection to support the Prince of the Niger in the rescue mission from the hands of the rudderless Peoples Democratic Party (PDP) has really united the party.

    Disclosing this in Kabba, the Bunu-born businessman described Faleke as a great son of Okunland and good ambassador of Kogi State, whose political profile has risen to the pinnacle Lagos and Abuja.

    He said his wealth of experience as a two-term council chairman and as a serving member of the House of Representatives, representing Ikeja/Ojodu Federal Constituency at the National Assembly, for a second term will help the state.

    Mr. Wemi said as a true son of Okunland, Faleke needed the support of all and sundry to realise his ambition in lifting Kogi to loftier heights. According to him, the era of bad leadership was over, lamenting the neglect of his people by successive governments in the state.

  • Businessman, foundation tackle tropical diseases

    The Jimmy Carter Foundation in collaboration with Sir Emeka Offor Foundation and the Federal Ministry of Health have mounted a campaign against neglected tropical diseases.

    The team visited Enugu, Anambra and Ebonyi states where it held meetings with commissioners of health and other stakeholders in the health sector.

    The two foundations plan to give free drugs to all states in Nigeria to facilitate the fight against river blindness and neglected tropical diseases (NTDs) like leprosy, guinea worm, buruli ulcer and other related killer- diseases endemic in some states of the federation.

    The Jimmy Carter foundation had in the past years been in the forefront of the fight against guinea worm disease in Nigeria.

    In line with the Federal Ministry of Health’s campaign on eradication of river blindness before 2020, the foundation alongside Sir Emeka Offor Foundation joined the ministry on advocacy visits to state ministries of health in South-East to collaborate with them in the fight against NTD.

    Dr. Okoeguale
    Dr. Okoeguale

    During their  visit to the Enugu and Anambra states ministries of health on the elimination and control of NTDs in Nigeria, Dr. Bridget Okoeguale, Director of public health, Federal Ministry of health, empasised the need for collaboration in the fight against the diseases.

    “We have target to eradicate some of the neglected tropical diseases”, she stressed.

    Okoeguale stressed the importance of educating the people in the grassroots on ways to prevent and control the sporadic neglected tropical diseases

    She  appealed to the federal government to collaborate with the state government to provide basic incentives like motorcycles, T- Shirts, and umbrellas to health workers in the states to facilitate the sharing of drugs against NTDs.

    The permanent secretary in the Enugu state ministry of health, Mr. Moses Otuji who represented the commissioner for health gave his assurrance that “ Enugu state has the wherewithal to combat the NTDs”, therefore it requires a concerted effort to eliminate the killer- diseases.

    Otuji further emphasised the commitment of the state government in the fight against diseases. He said that “Enugu state is lucky to have a governor who is interested in heath -related issues.”

    In Anambra State, the commissiner for health, Dr Joe Akabike expressed his concern in the eradication of the diseases and assured that the state was not ready to revert the wheel in the fight against diseases.

    “We should sensitise those affected by the diseases on how to apply the drugs and as well as show them love”.

    The programme officer in Sir Emeka offor foundation, Mr. Peter Onu disclosed that Sir Emeka Offor was  a key supporter in the campaign for eradication of the killer-diseases.

    He therefore appealed to the state governments to take bold steps in the fight against the diseases.

     

     

     

    Confirming the readiness to eliminate river blindness in Nigeria the representative of Carter Centre, Nigeria office, Dr. Emmanuel Miri told The Nation that efforts were on ground to eradicate river blindness in Nigeria before 2020.

    Miri called on the states to tackle the diseases in four years.

    Dr. Mmiri
    Dr. Mmiri

     

    The team also visited the commissioner for ministry of local government in Anambra state , Greg Obi.

    The commissioner expressed his concern for the fight against neglected tropical diseases and called for a concerted effort among the local government chairmen in the state to ward off the diseases.

    He congratulated the advocacy group led by the director of public health federal ministry of health, Dr. Okoeguale  and  the country representative of Carter Centre, Nigeria office, Dr. Miri on their efforts in the disease eradication campaign.

  • Alleged N1.7b fraud: EFCC arrests Lagos businessman

    Alleged N1.7b fraud: EFCC arrests Lagos businessman

    Firm loses fortune in phoney deal

    Outdoor giant Afromedia is battling to handle its most difficult brief ever — how to retrieve a fortune invested in a phoney deal.

    The Economic and Financial Crimes Commission (EFCC) is helping.

    The anti-graft agency has arrested a Lagos businessman, Alhaji Mohammed Gobir, for allegedly defrauding the foremost outdoor advertising company of cash estimated to be N1.7 billion in various currencies.

    Gobir was picked up at his Ikoyi home and put in detention.

    A source in the commission said: “The mega heist allegedly fetched Gobir $3,500,000,   N514,457,151.87,   $2,102,740,  and 51,000 pounds sterling at various times.

    “Gobir, a 55–year-old father of two, was picked up by EFCC operatives  early Saturday at his Ikoyi residence and is still being interrogated at the Lagos office of the anti-graft agency.

    “The suspect allegedly defrauded the advertising company through a phoney investment deal.

    “The suspect was allegedly introduced to Afromedia sometime in 2008 by their private placement consultants, Synergy Capital Advisory Limited, as a high networth investor who was willing to inject N1,000,000,000 into the company, through the acquisition of shares.

    “Based on his touted pedigree as potential investor, Gobir cozy up to the management and in no time became chairman of the Business Development Committee of the board of directors of the company, a position which he later used to defraud the company.

    “Having earned the trust of the company owners, Gobir started demanding large amounts of money, which he termed as business expenses to international consultants, Royal Exchange Burue in the United Kingdom in order to facilitate and secure investments from his bank in the UK, Natwest Bank London.

    [ad id=”403656″]“The company gave Gobir  $1,000,000 in cash and paid for his travel expenses on a first class return ticket to UK where he would meet with the purported investors, which investigation later showed never existed nor were the meetings ever held.”

    The commission said the fraud was uncovered when the group managing director of Afromedia followed Gobir to London on a business trip.

    The source added: “On one good day after the suspect had collected several amounts of money and made several trips to the UK to meet with the purported investors, the group managing director of Afromedia accompanied him to the UK for another round of meeting ostensibly to close the deal.

    “But as soon as they landed in the UK, Gobir made a telephone call in which his travel companion overheard him scream aloud, saying his assets were seized by UK anti-money laundering authorities.

    “He even showed the GMD an email sent to him for the alleged seizure.

    “The suspect confessed to  the MD of Afromedia that his money( $250,000,000) was seized by the British authorities five years earlier for alleged money laundering and that he was currently financially handicapped and he needed a bailout of $3,817,000 to get the European Union Money Laundering Waiver Certificate.

    “The suspect later presented a “waiver certificate”, to the company and promised to pay them the monies he had collected.”

    The Head of Media and Publicity of the EFCC, Mr. Wilson Uwujaren who confirmed the arrest, said investigation into the scam continued.

  • Business man kidnapped in Makurdi

    The owner of the biggest shopping mall in Makurdi, David Onuigbo, popularly known by his business name, Dubbiac Supermarket, has been kidnapped by gunmen.

    The incident occurred last Friday on Iyorchia Ayu Road, opposite the state library at Wurukum, about 9 pm.

    Initially, people mistook the incident to be a robbery, as the gunmen shot in the air and drove off with Onuigbo, escaping through Wurukum Roundabout.

    But the next day, it was discovered that they were kidnappers when Onuigbo’s family called his phone and his abductors answered, warning them not to inform the police. The kidnappers reportedly said they would demand a ransom later.

    But two days after his abduction, no demand has been made.

    Relations said Onuigbo is hypertensive. They begged the kidnappers to release him on compassionate ground, to enable him attend to his health.

    The Nation learnt that the victim had just relocated to his new two-storey building opposite the library, near Wurukum Roundabout and the kidnappers may have thought he is rich.

    Police spokesman Austine Ezeani confirmed the incident.

    He said: “We are on top of the situation.”

  • 627m ‘scam’: AIG Mbu lied, says businessman

    627m ‘scam’: AIG Mbu lied, says businessman

    The Assistant Inspector General of Police (AIG) in charge of Zone 2, Joseph Mbu, has been accused of telling lies over the alleged torture and illegal detention of the Managing Director of Kafisto Oil and Gas ltd, Mr Uwem Antia and his business partner, Alhaji Suleiman Yerima by operatives of the Economic and Financial Crimes Commission (EFCC) and policemen led by DSP Ibrahim Dantoro.

    Yerima said they were tortured and detained for 80 days illegally by EFCC and policemen under the command of AIG Mbu.

    He also insisted that the foreign exchange business deal for which they were being persecuted were legitimate and in order.

    Yerima, who spoke with The Nation yesterday in Abuja, said he stood by his allegations against the EFCC and AIG Mbu.

    He released the photograph of Antia who was tortured and had his leg broken by policemen. He said amputation of the leg of Antia was being contemplated by the hospital.

    However, EFCC spokesperson Wilson Uwujaren said the allegations were not true, adding that they “amounted to tissue of lies from the pit of hell”.

    Uwujaren added: “EFCC does not have any torture chamber anywhere in the country. Have you ever seen any person saying he was tortured by EFCC? You are aware of our operations since you have been covering our activities, has any accused person said he was tortured or beaten by our men? By your closeness to EFCC at least you can verify from other sources, we don’t torture people.

    “I have told you that EFCC has nothing to do with the alleged torture of Antia, or Suleiman Yerima; if you choose to believe what they are alleging, well, I don’t have any thing else to say. However, if their alleged torture was from some where else, I don’t know, but certainly not from us. There is no iota of truth in it.”

    Mbu at a news conference in Lagos denied that his men tortured any accused persons. He described the allegation as false and mischievously concocted by the suspects to frustrate the ongoing investigations into their serial crimes.

    The AIG alleged that the officer in charge of the investigation, Ibrahim Dantoro ,was offered N50 million bribe to truncate the case, but he refused and informed the command about it.

    Yerima said Mbu was being economical with the truth, saying that as a well-trained police officer, if an accused person offered a bribe, the appropriate thing to do was for the police to set up the accused, collect the bribe and use it as evidence.

    Yerima challenged Mbu to disclose to Nigerians the people the bankers (Mr Dennis Ale and Gladys Aginwa of Standard Chartered Bank) are working for, adding that the AIG should establish whether or not the bankers delivered the  money to their clients.

    Yerima alleged that it was from Mbu’s men that he learnt that the N627 million belonged to former First Lady Dame Patience Jonathan.

    Yerima said the EFCC case referred to by AIG Mbu was transferred from Lagos to Jos on the request of a partner, Ibrahim Suleiman, saying: “I am happy I have only one case in Jos, but AIG Mbu should tell Nigerians how many cases have been instituted against him by innocent people across the country.”

    He said it was quite unfortunate that the EFCC and  Mbu would refer to him and Antia as serial fraudsters over a business matter that was yet pending in court, maintaining that as far as they were concerned, they remained innocent until the court says otherwise.

    Yerima alleged that his life and that of Antia were in danger, adding that he has petitioned President Muhammadu Buhari and security institutions in the country.

    “I am happy I have only one case in Jos, but AIG Mbu should tell Nigerians how many cases have been instituted against him by innocent people across the country”