Specifically, it alleged that the sum of N692,122,000 was stolen from the account of Woobs Resources Limited by AIG Lafia and one James Uchechukwu Onyemenam.
A petition addressed to the office of the Inspector General of Police by a legal team representing the interest of Woobs Resources Limited has accused AIG AbduYari Shuayau Lafia and ACP Mohammed Lawan of fraudulently withdrawing over N692 million from the company’s Fidelity Bank account.
Woobs Resources Limited is a real estate development and facility management company.
Specifically, it alleged that the sum of N692,122,000 was stolen from the account of Woobs Resources Limited by AIG Lafia and one James Uchechukwu Onyemenam.
The petition dated April 30, 2024, was sent by General Counsel, Victor Ukutt Esq. of Victor Ukutt & Co. Legal Practitioners was received by the Inspector General of Police on May 2, 2024.
The petition also accused the suspects and officers of the Force Intelligence Bureau (FIB) of abuse of office and police power.
The petition reads: “Our Client had a fixed deposit with Fidelity Bank Plc with a credit balance of Five Hundred and Twenty-Eight Million, Three Hundred and Thirty-Five Thousand, Nine Hundred and Seventy-Three Naira, Two Kobo (N528,335,973.02) and other credit balances in their salaries account, main current account and their main current account 2.
“AIG Abduyari Shuayau Lafia ordered the Managing Director of Fidelity Bank in the person of Dr. Nneka c. Onyeali-Ikpe to deactivate the telephone number 08033855*** and email: [email protected] on the banking coordinate of our client with Fidelity Bank Plc. This was to put our client out of notice of the eventual plan to remove all the money in our client's accounts who is currently on medical trip outside Nigeria.
“Upon the deactivation of the email and the phone number from our Client's Bank Accounts, and unknown to them, our Client received an automated notification of the deactivation of email and telephone number from their banking coordinate. The automated copy of the SMS to deactivate the telephone number and the email address of our client from their Fidelity Bank accounts is hereby attached for your ease of reference.
“Our client protested this development to Managing Director of Fidelity Bank Plc via a letter dated 19th April 2024 that he never authorized the deactivation of their telephone number and email from their banking details, which they never responded to as they were shocked how our client received the deactivation notice. The copy of the letter of protest is hereby attached for your ease of reference.
“AIG Abduyari Shuayau Lafia ordered Fidelity Bank Plc to collapse our client's fixed deposit with accrued interest into their main current Account Number 4010020172 and also collapsed all the money in Account 2 with Account number 4010779717 and all the money in their salaries account in Account Number 4011072415 to Account Number 4010020172 without our Client's consent, knowledge and authority or with a court order.
“AIG Abduyari Shuayau Lafia subsequently ordered Fidelity Bank Plc to transfer all the money standing in the credit of our client's bank accounts with account number 4010020172 in a total sum of Six Hundred and Ninety-Two Million, One Hundred and Twenty-Two Thousand Naira (N692,122,000.00).
“On 24th April 2024, the said money was transferred to AIG Abduyari Shuayau Lafia and his pay master in the person of Mr. James Uchechukwu Oyemenam without our client's consent, authority and knowledge. The said robbery/theft and unlawful transfer of the money was termed "settlement amount" by Fidelity Bank Plc. A copy of the statement of account evidencing the transfer is attached for your ease of reference.
“Recall AIG Abduyari Shuayau Lafia had through Inspector Ikemba Cyprian Ajuluchukwu procured a freezing/post-no-debit court order from High Court of the Federal Capital Territory Abuja on the 27th March, 2024. He used the same said High Court order to freeze the bank accounts of our Client including Fidelity Bank Plc. A copy of the High Court order from the Federal Capital Territory dated 27th March, 2024 is attached for your ease of reference.
“Upon the procurement of the order from the FCT High Court in Motion No. M/6013/2024, Abduyari Shuayau Lafia wrote to all the banks that they should comply with the said court order from the FCT High Court and freeze/Post-No- Debit on the account of Woobs Resources Limited, Sandworth Properties Limited etc. The copies of letters written by Abduyari Shuayau Lafia to all the banks to comply with the FCT High Court order is attached for your ease of reference.
“Despite the freezing order/Post-No-Debit obtained by Abduyari Shuayau Lafia against all the bank accounts of Woobs Resources Limited by FCT High Court on 27th March 2024, Abduyari Shuayau Lafia went to Fidelity Bank Plc and ordered Fidelity Bank Plc to transfer all the money standing in the credit of Woobs Resources Limited domiciled in Fidelity Bank Plc to him and James Uchechukwu Onyemenam.
“Fidelity Bank Plc to save their lives from Abduyari Shuayau Lafia and in willful disobedience of the High Court of Federal Capital Territory order dated 27th March, 2024 that prohibits debits, transferred the sum of N692,122,000.00 (Six Hundred and Ninety-Two Million, One Hundred and Twenty-Two Thousand Naira) standing in the credit of Woobs Resources Limited in the bank account number 4010020172 to Abduyari Shuayau Lafia and James Uchechukwu Onyemenam without a court order.
“On our enquiry on this development on Tuesday 23rd April, 2024 by 4:06pm, the Managing Director of Fidelity Bank Plc in the person of Dr. Nneka c. Onyeali-Ikpe informed our client by telephone conversation with her phone number 08034341*** that AIG, Abduyari Shuayau Lafia and his team from FIB arrested her and four (4) of her executive management officers.
“She said she had to bail herself with the sum of N5,000,000,000.00 (Five Billion Naira) while her other executive management colleagues spent four (4) days in detention before they were able to secure their release, and as such, she does not want to risk being killed for what she knows nothing about. A copy of her telephone conversation of payment of N5,000,000,000.00 (Five Billion Naira) to AIG, Abduyari Shuayau Lafia and his team at FIB is hereby attached for your ease of reference.
“Our client is not indebted to Fidelity Bank Plc, Mr. James Uchechukwu Oyemenam, AIG Abduyari Shuayau Lafia or is there any third party judgment from any court in Nigeria against our client in the said amount or any amount whatsoever directing payment or removal of the total sum of Six Hundred and Ninety-Two Million, One Hundred and Twenty-Two Thousand Naira (N692,122,000.00) to AIG, Abduyari Shuayau Lafia or Mr. James Uchechukwu Oyemenam to warrant the unlawful removal of the said money from our client's account with Fidelity Bank Plc.”
The company, therefore, implored the Inspector General of Police to “intervene in this matter and immediately order the arrest and prosecute AIG Abduyari Shuayau Lafia, ACP Mohammed Lawan and their cohorts in the Force Intelligence Bureau (FIB) for theft and robbery”.
It added, “We also implore you, Sir to set up an investigative team to unravel this despicable behaviour of the Senior Police Officers in Force Intelligence Bureau (FID) led by AIG, Abduyari Shuayau Lafia and where culpability is established, necessary sanctions should be made out to these corrupt police officers. In the alternative, we also implore the Inspector General of Police to direct an investigation to unravel how the sum of Six Hundred and Ninety-Two Million, One Hundred and Twenty-Two Thousand Naira (N692,122,000.00) left our client’s account without a court order notwithstanding a subsisting post-no-debit order from the FCT Court procured by AIG Abduyari Shuayau Lafia.”
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