Mr. Kolawole Tosin, a Lagos business man, allegedly harassed by men of the Nigerian Police Force at the instigation of United Bank for Africa (UBA) has dragged both the Assistant Inspector General of Police (AIG), Force Criminal Investigation Department, Alagbon, Lagos and UBA before a Federal High Court in Lagos.
In a 22 paragraph affidavit sworn to by the business man and filed before the court by a Lagos-based legal practitioner, Chief Abdulahi Tony Dania, the deponent alleged that sometimes in 2013, he contacted Mr. Ishiaka Ajakaye, an agent and asked him to source a loan for the sum of N20 million only, for him from any financial institutions or banks within Lagos.
The loan was granted by UBA against a property collateral which was equally sourced by the Applicant’s agent who has made statement to the AIG to that effect.
UBA was said to have conducted due diligence on the loan pre-disbursement by forensic audit and was satisfied before the loan as disbursed.
But Tosin said there were “very serious discrepancies, extortions over figures which were discovered by forensic audit conducted on the Applicant’s accounts with UBA.”
Thus, he instituted the suit in respect of this matter.
He claimed that UBA related with Mr. Ajakaye conclusively on the issues of collateral, before granting the loan in issue and this fact has not been controverted at the police headquarters.
However, he averred that he was arrested by the Police at the instance of the bank on the issue of using a property owned by Alhaji Aliyu Attah, a retired Inspector General of Police, without the consent of the owner.
He explained to the AIG that Ajakaye had transacted directly with the UBA in respect to the use of the property in issue, as third party collateral.
However, instead of charging both Ajakaye and UBA, the AIG, he deposed, for whatever reason has deliberately refused to charge them but that at the instigation of UBA and the former Inspector General of Police, the AIG filed a charge against the Applicant to intimidate and coerce the Applicant into unwholesome compromise.
The affidavit stated that the Applicant has a constitutional right to freedom from unnecessary intimidation, torture, threats, and baseless or unjustifiable criminal charges calculated to force him to accept to pay over N60 million above his actual indebtedness to UBA which the applicant has vehemently refused to accept and against which he has a suit against UBA which is currently pending at the Lagos High Court, Igbosere.
He averred that unless the court stopped the respondents, they would continue to make life miserable for him and continue to bark orders at the Applicant, intimidating him and treating the Applicant like slave and ultimately laying false allegations against him.
Consequently, he said it would be in the interest of Justice to grant this Application and restrain the Respondent generally from further undermining the rights of the Applicant and attempting to further arrest or detain the Applicant as it relates to this commercial or civil transaction or any matter connected to same.
In a counter affidavit, a staff of the bank, Obiora Ugwuanyi, stated as follows:
- Sometimes in 2013, Floormate Services Ltd. through its director applied for an overdraft facility in the sum of N20,000,000.00 (Twenty Million Naira) on certain terms and conditions which Floormates Services Ltd duly accepted, drew down, and subsequently utilized the 0pentire facility.
- Pursuant to the above offer, Floormate Services Ltd brought a property at 5 Eko Street, Parkview Estate Ikoyi, Lagos which belonged to a director of company, Mr. Aliyu Ibrahim Attah, as collateral for the facility.
- From the commencement of the said facility to the grant of the facility till completion, the UBA dealt with the Applicant on behalf of the company.
- Upon presentation of the property the bank was informed that Ibrahim Attah was a director of the company and the applicant presented a letter of authority and consent of Alhaji Aliyu Attah to use his property as collateral for the grant of the loan.
- Before the grant of the loan facility UBA engaged the services of external solicitors to conduct its routine diligence before the grant of any facility at the Land Registry, Alausa, Ikeja and at Corporate Affairs Commission.
- Thereafter third party deed of legal mortgage was secured over the property belonging to Ibrahim Aliyu Attah of which the original title document was handed over to UBA.
- That whilst the UBA was taking steps to liquidate the debt owed to it by Floormate Services Ltd, the company filed an action at the High Court of Lagos State in 2015 against the bank alleging overcharges and excess interest on the company’s account.
- That surprisingly, on 8 October 2020, the bank was invited by the AIG for the Investigation of the case of Conspiracy, forgery, and stealing involving the Deed of Third Party Legal Mortgage.
- That upon the Bank honoring the invitation of the AIG he was informed that the Mortgagor had written a Petition against the bank and some other persons alleging conspiracy to steal his property as the title documents were stolen and his signature on the deed of legal mortgage obtained by fraud.
- The bank does not control the apparatus of the Nigeria Police and did not instigate any arrest or detention of any person.
The Respondent averred that it did not instigate arrest or detention as it does not control the Police and would put the Applicant to the strictest proof of his case.
The 2nd Respondent further avers that the 1″ Respondent is also investigating the 2nd Respondent for the said offences and have on several occasions been invited by the Police for questioning and clarification. The Letter of invitation dated 2nd March 2021 and 23rd April are hereby attached and marked Exhibit C and D respectively.
The bank further averred that the Police upon diligently carrying out its investigation released a Police Investigation Report dated 21st April 2021 which chronicled the illegal activities of the Applicant and his company.
It said the assertions in the Applicant’s affidavit are untrue and calculated to mislead the court as the bank did not at any point in time instigate the Police against him.
The bank claimed that criminal evidence of Conspiracy, Forgery, obtaining by False Pretenses, and stealing of title documents were found against the Applicant by the AIG and not the UBA and as a result of the above, the AIG charged the Applicant and his accomplices for the crime committed.
UBA said it is a victim of the Applicant’s criminal activities and has suffered severe loss as a result of the Applicant and his company obtaining a facility from the bank by False Pretense and stealing the title documents upon which the 2nd Respondent parted away with its depositor’s funds.
It said its rights have by the singular action of the Applicant been infringed upon as the Applicant and his company stole the sum of N20 million from UBA using fraudulent means.