By Christopher Oji
The owner of the N97 million alleged to had been confiscated by former Officer in charge of the Special Anti Robbery Squad (SARS), DCP Abba Kyari , Mr Eddy Obinna, has cleared the air on what really transpired.
A lawyer ,Mr Salawu Akingbolu, had alleged that Kyari extorted N41.8 million from his client, who was identified as Mr Mojeed ,and petitioned the Lagos State Judicial Panel of Inquiry and Restitution for SARS Related Abuses to wade into the abuse.
But in a swift reactions, the owner of the money, Obinna who spoke with Journalists ,said he would like to clear the air and paint the real picture of what really transpired.
” The allegation against DCP Abba Kyari, of extortion was false , aimed at misleading the panel and tarnishing Abba Kyari’s hard-earned reputation .I was shocked when I read in the news that Kyari, extorted the sum of N41.8million from Mojeed on a matter which I am the complainant of which Mojeed had begged me severally for forgiveness when he was arrested. His cousin, Balogun, who paid my money into his account with instruction that Mojeed should transfer the money to me is still alive. I, the owner of the money is still alive and these people went to town with the stories and lies that the police extorted N41.8million from Mojeed. I am ready to appear before the panel to state the fact. I won’t allow Mojeed and his lawyer to get away with this. I have a copy of his statement of account which showed clearly that Balogun paid my N97million into his account after which he ran away with it and even spent N54.5million from it.
“I have advised Kyari, to take legal action against Mojeed and the unprofessional conduct of his lawyer ,who has been trying to blackmail and tarnish his hard earned reputation. I have also instructed my lawyers to revisit the case in court since Mojeed was not acquitted.” He stated
He said that he gave the money to Mr Balogun to procure some earth moving equipment which he could not deliver, so he requested for a refund and Balogun instructed his cousin, Mojeed, who was in possession of the said money to transfer it back to Obinna, but Mojeed, in turn allegedly absconded with the money.
He said when he and Balogun, couldn’t reach Mojeed to get back their money, he wrote a petition to the Lagos State Commissioner of Police, detailing how Mojeed, became elusive after stealing his money and the matter was assigned to the Special Anti-Robbery Squad, SARS, the only department which has the capacity to track criminals through cell phones at that time.
Obinna added that operatives of SARS , which he said was headed by Kayri, now a Deputy Commissioner of Police, arrested Mojeed after tracking his mobile phones and he confessed to have stolen Obninna’s money which was paid into his account by his cousin, adding that he spent part of the money in buying landed properties and cars, leaving just N41.8million in his account.
Obinna stated further that Mojeed, willfully transferred the N41.8million found in his account directly back to his (Obinna’s account) and the sum of N700,000 cash recovered in his possession by the Police all part of his 97million were given to him after all documentations was done, while a Honda Accord car and building documents were confiscated and registered as Exhibits by the Police.
He said : “The police succeeded in helping me to recover the sum of N42.5million from the N97million which Mojeed, stole from me, remaining N54.5million as balance. The money was released to me and I signed some documents after receiving the money. I was pleased with the manner of professionalism and uncompromising manner the police displayed in helping me recover part of my money and also confisticating some of the properties Mojeed acquired with my money. The matter was taken to the Magistrate Court 2 Ikeja and later High Court Ikoyi, where I hoped I would get the balance.”
Obinna lamented that the matter suffered severe setback when it got to the court as it encountered countless adjournments, which it was eventually struck out, when he traveled out of the country and couldn’t follow up with his case: “ I went to court for about five times and I wasn’t pleased with the pace at which the matter was moving. There were times when I was in court ,but it wouldn’t be in Session. I got frustrated and I had other business activities that took me out of the country and when I returned, I learned that the matter was struck out, but the suspect wasn’t acquitted.”