Importer petitions police over $252,000 Venezuelan hides, skins

Forum 1 year ago

Importer petitions police over $252,000 Venezuelan hides, skins

A Lagos-based businessman, Ayodele Oluwaseun, has cried out over the alleged diversion of his $252,000 worth of hides and skin he imported from Venezuela between November 28, 2022, and March 30, 2023.

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

Oluwaseun had alleged that he was cheated of the goods by a Kano-based businessman, Maniru Garba, and his agents acting in connivance with police attached to the International Criminal Police Organisation, INTERPOL.

But Garba denied any wrongdoing, saying the goods were his, but was wrongly diverted to Oluwaseun by the Venezuelans.

Oluwaseun through his lawyer, Justice Ojienoh, on January 20, 2023, through a petition to the Assistant Inspector-General of Police, Force Criminal Investigation Department, FCID, Annex, Alagbon Close, Lagos, claimed that his four containers loaded with hides and skin were hijacked by Garba with the active physical connivance of soldiers.

The petitioner said Oluwaseun and his friends, Agarawu Jadesola Taofiq and Adekola Ibrahim Olanrewaju with their companies, Emmhbeth Nig. Ltd and Laskumer Global Enterprises imported the dry hides and skin through a Venezuelan firm, JQ International Consultants C.A, (en-route The Netherlands).

He said while the first batch of four containers were expected to arrive in Lagos, which was the point of delivery by November, 2022, the second consignment of four containers were expected by March 2023 via Lome, Togo, which was the point of delivery.

The lawyer said: “Upon investigation, it was discovered that it was the duo of Garba, who is said to live in Kano and Ayuba Muhammed, their organisation, Hen-NGO that placed holds on the containers.”

The lawyer alleged that Muhammed, in the guise of an amicable settlement, persuaded Oluwaseun to release the original papers of the importation to a third party that they all trusted, Mr Nwankwo Chuka Kevin, and pay clearing and demurrage fees of N32 million and he complied but alleged that upon release of the goods, Ayuba and Garba “used military men to scare our client’s agent, Mr. Olanrewaju, away and took the containers to an unknown destination.”

Fearing “intimidation, threat to life and criminal conversion of property, he petitioned the AIG in charge of FCID, Lagos in a January 20, 2023, by a letter against Garba and two others.

He alleged that INTERPOL took over the petition and aided the delivery of two of the containers in the second shipment worth $84,000 to Garba’s warehouse “despite the fact that all importation documents were in the name of my client who paid all clearing and demurrage fees as well as customs duties on all four containers.”

But Garba denied the allegation, saying he paid the Venezuelans $400,000 for the goods over a year ago and sent him all the necessary paperwork, including the bill of lading, but failed to deliver the goods, as he was cheated out of the money, which he took as a loan from a bank, and then diverted the goods to Oluwaseun.

He said: “Yes, I used Interpol. I was cheated of more than $400,000. That is the problem. I approached the Interpol, the Commissioner of Police, the Inspector-General of Police to try to recover my money. It’s a big case.

“I didn’t use power to take the goods from him. The goods are mine. I have my evidence. I have the bill of lading. They (foreign firm) sent me the bill of lading and all the other documents, yet they later transferred my goods to someone else. I paid for the goods more than one year ago.”

“I’m not using power to collect the goods. Right now, the foreign form is still owing me three containers. Any person that receives the containers from the firm should know the goods therein are mine.”