'Interpol Aided Kano Businessman To Steal My $252,000 Goods' – Importer

•As Businessman Declines Comment

A Lagos-based businessman, Ayodele Oluwaseun, has cried out over the alleged theft of his imported hides and skin worth $252,000 that he imported from Venezuela between November 28 last year and March 30, 2023.

Mr Oluwaseun alleged that he was hoodwinked and defrauded of the goods by a Kano-based businessman, Alhaji Maniru Garba, his civilian accomplices and with the connivance of International Criminal Police Organization, INTERPOL, officers.

The importer appealed to the Inspector-General of Police, IGP, the Nigerian Bar Association, NBA, and Civil Society Organizations, CSOs, to help him recover his money or his goods and bring the alleged fraudsters to justice.

Alhaji Maniru Garba declined several calls to his line. He also did not respond to text messages informing him of and seeking his response to Oluwaseun’s allegations.

It would be recalled that Mr Oluwaseun through his lawyer, Justice Segun Ojienoh on January 20, 2023, filed a petition to the Assistant Inspector-General of Police, AIG, Force Criminal Investigation Department Annex, Alagbon Close, Lagos, informing him of the alleged hijacking of his four containers loaded with hides and skins by Alhaji Garba through the active connivance of officers of the Nigerian military.

The petitioner said Oluwaseun and his friends, Agarawu Jadesola Taofiq and Adekola Ibrahim Olanrewaju together with their companies, EMMHBETH Nigeria Limited and Laskumer Global Enterprises imported the dry hides and skin through a Venezuelan firm, JQ International Consultants C. A, (en route The Netherlands) who issued the telex documents evidencing full and final payment for the goods.

According to him, they obtained all the necessary original documents for the goods and the importation was to be done in two consignments of four containers each. 

While the first batch of four containers was expected to arrive in Lagos, Nigeria, which was the point of delivery by November 2022, the second consignment of four containers was expected by March 2023 via Lomé, Togo, which was the point of delivery.

The lawyer said: “When our client proceeded to clear the goods from the Ports, they were told that the containers had holds placed on them that were barring them from proceeding with the clearing. As a result of this, the containers started incurring demurrage.

“Upon investigation, it was discovered that it was the duo of Alhaji Maniru Garba, who is said to live in Kano and Ayuba Hussaini Muhammed, their organization, Hen-NGO that placed holds on the containers.

“Upon our client's contact with them, they told our clients that they were also importers of hides and skin and are in the same line of business. They told our clients that the exporters owe them some money. Our clients made it categorically clear to them that that ought to be a private business between them and the exporters and urged them to remove the hold from the containers so that clearing same can be seamless, to which it seemed to our clients that they agreed."

The lawyer alleged that Muhammed approached Oluwaseun with the promise of an amicable settlement of the debacle and persuaded him to release the original papers of the importation to a third party that they all trusted, Mr Nwankwo Chuka Kevin. Oluwaseun was also persuaded to pay clearing and demurrage fees of N32 million.

He added: “Our clients complied with all these conditions. Upon the release of the goods, Ayuba Hussaini Muhammed and Alhaji Maniru Garba used military men to scare our client’s agent, Mr Adekola Ibrahim Olanrewaju away and took the containers to an unknown destination.

“All these events happened from November 28, 2022, when the ship arrived on the 12th of January when they were released.

“Also, for fear that my client may face similar intimidation, threat to life and criminal conversion of property, I formally wrote to the FCID Unit of the Nigeria Police Force through the Assistant Inspector General of Police in charge of Force Criminal Investigation Department, FCID, Alagbon Close, Lagos in a letter dated 20th January 2023, wherein I petitioned Alhaji Maniru Garba, Ayuba Hussaini Muhammed and Mr Nwankwo Chuka Kelvin of criminal conversion, intimidation and detinue of four containers filled with hides and skin worth $168,000. 

“But rather than the FCID department to treat my petition with the desired attention, the International Criminal Police Organization, Nigeria took over the petition and despite the fact that JO International Consultants, who undoubtedly is the exporter of all eight containers of animal skin duly purchased by my client, wrote to the Togo INTERPOL on the 14th of March 2023, informing INTERPOL of my client’s true ownership of the containers when the second batch of containers arrived at Lome in Togo, Alhaji Maniru Garba who boasted of being a close friend to AIG Umar Garba, the Vice President of INTERPOL African and head of Interpol Nigeria, used INTERPOL Nigeria to intercept the second batch of containers and following orders from above from INTERPOL Nigeria, two of the containers in the second shipment worth $84,000 (Eighty Four Thousand Dollars) were delivered to Alhaji Maniru Garba’s warehouse despite the fact that all importation documents were in the name of my client who had paid all clearing and demurrage fees as well as customs duties on all four containers.

Mr Oluwaseun stated ‘’I appeal to the public, local and international human rights groups, the Nigerian Bar Association, Civil Liberty Organization and all persons of conscience and goodwill to come to my aid as Alhaji Maniru Garba has sworn to use his wide range of connections in the INTERPOL and the Nigeria Military to illegally convert my goods to his, seize my importation documents and sworn that I can’t do anything because I am a nobody and not widely connected as he is since he knows people at the corridors of power in Nigeria. 

"To date, I do not know the location of my goods as I was merely asked to bail an empty container having carted away my goods and handed them to Alhaji Maniru Garba.

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