Speaking with SaharaReporters, Ayodele said he was into haulage business in which he served as a middleman between export agents and truck owners, assisting them to look for export trucks.
A Lagos State resident, Emmanuel Ayodele, has cried out for justice as he is currently being held at the Kirikiri Correctional Centre in Apapa over a case of breach of business he reported to Zone 2 of the Nigeria Police Force.
Speaking with SaharaReporters, Ayodele said he was into haulage business in which he served as a middleman between export agents and truck owners, assisting them to look for export trucks.
He added that his work was to have his phone on and clients who are export agents would call him to help them source for containers which are ready to do export business.
In March, Ayodele said one Mr. Theophilus approached him and introduced him to an export agent, Mr. Prince Oba, who needed him to source containers for them, which he did.
"After the containers were sourced within four days, five containers were sourced for them. They promised to procure indemnity documents to prove that the containers are under their care and also to exonerate initial users of those containers.
"After the containers were sourced for them, they issued fake documents. I called them over and over for the genuine documents but they did not oblige.
"Within two weeks, I went to lay a complaint. I petitioned the AIG at Zone 2. In the month of May, Oba was tracked to the Maritime Police Station. I was told to come and lay a complaint again there, after I had complained at Zone 2 because I was told to pay N150,000 for a petition, which I didn't have.
"At Zone 2, I paid N100,000 for the petition and I paid N200,000 for tracking and arrest. I made other subsequent payments."
Eventually, Ayodele said the suspect was arrested and held at Maritime Police Station but they "kept the information away from Zone 2, and it was unknown to us when he was released on bail from the station."
"Meanwhile, when the trucks came in March 2022, they came to a certain garage, a fenced-gated garage. I made enquiries to know if the garage is owned by Oba or someone else. I learnt that it is one Mr. Izu who owns the garage and Oba works for Mr. Izu. I went to trail Mr. Izu and I learned that he was arrested at Alagbon Force CID.
"We got information in June when he was to be released from the station but unfortunately, I fell sick and the containers were not available on ground when he was arrested.
"I was invited to come to the station and challenge them. I had Monkeypox, so I went to the station and I was told to go and take care of myself before I could come and challenge him.
"I went to Alagbon FCID to lay a fresh complaint against the same man and against another group of persons from whom I sourced containers, Ijeola Chukwuma of China Link.
"Alagbon FCID called them to come to the station but they all switched off their phones. In the course of that, I was rearrested at Port CID, Apapa and within five days, I was not allowed to make calls to Alagbon. They said that they were aware that Alagbon FCID sent a signal to them.”
In the same March, he said he made another business deal with one Chuvibes Global Limited who also requested for containers to do export. Unfortunately, he fell victim again to the company which he sourced containers for.
The people including Mr. Chukwuma, Mr. Israel and their manager, Mr. Okechukwu, were also supposed to give him export indemnity documents for the containers.
But it was learnt that the best they could do was to provide an application for the indemnity document.
They told him that they had applied for the indemnity documents, that they were waiting for the approval from the company they were dealing with to give them the approval.
Based on pressure from other transporters and truck owners from whom he sourced the containers, "While awaiting the approval, I was forced to send an application for the documents that was sent to me by Chuvibes. I also forwarded that to the transporters and truck owners from whom I sourced the containers, just for them to know that they had commenced work on procuring the document.
"After some months, nothing was done and unfortunately, demurrage kept trading on these containers daily. Based on my sickness and the rest, I couldn't follow up.
"I sent numbers of Chuvibes Global Limited to the transporters and truck owners including one Mr. Kayode and one Mr. Olaleye that they should communicate with them so that they can also hear from them and possibly get the documents from them.
"When I came back from my sickness in early August, I made further contact with Chuvibes Global, calling Mr. Israel, he said that the best they could do was that looking at the problem of accumulated demurrage on the containers while awaiting the approval, the first thing they wanted to do was to buy off the containers.
"Mr. Israel sent me an invoice containing a list of containers that they, Chuvibes Global Limited, the owners of the containers, CMA Shipping Company. CMA Shipping Company was the one that was supposed to give Chuvibes Global Limited approval for indemnity documents but instead, the approval they got was to buy the containers from CMA.
"In total I sourced eight containers for Chuvibes from different transporters but in the document, I was able to see 13 containers, out of which, four that I sourced for them were included. It remained another four.
"Based on that, I went to Alagbon FCID to petition Chuvibes Global Limited, that they are meant to give us documents and instead, they are saying that they are buying containers but they have not done anything yet; that they should assist me to look into the matter, get them arrested. If they are to buy, let them buy and if they are not buying, they should return the containers."
In September, they were called over the phone by Alagbon FCID. They were invited but rather than coming, they switched off their phones.
According to him, Alagbon FCID sent an invitation letter to one of the owners of the containers, Mr. Hakeem Azeeza, while all other complainants worked with him.
Alagbon FCID invited Mr. Hakeem and he made a statement and Alagbon FCID informed him that they were currently looking into the matter and that they were working hard to get the culprits arrested.
"As at then, Alagbon had told me that we should go into tracking the culprits. Later, I was invited by Mr. Hakeem Azeeza for a meeting regarding the case at another station which he reported to at Apapa.
"When I went for the meeting, I was arrested and I told them that I have reported the matter at Alagbon FCID and that the station even confirmed that Alagbon FCID sent signal to them, that a petition is on their table at Alagbon, but nonetheless, the State CID, Apapa detained me from Thursday till Monday and by Tuesday, I was charged to court.
Also speaking with SaharaReporters, Ayodele's wife confirmed that while her husband was still treating himself, in early August she was in her office when about nine policemen from SWAT, Federal SARS, Adonija Police Station stormed her office and arrested her.
At the station, "They asked if my husband uses my bank account for business and I said yes. They asked me if I knew where he works and I told them he works at Apapa.
"They said that there are containers and I told them that he has reported the same issue to Zone 2 and that they can go and investigate.
"They detained me. While they were interrogating me, they beat me up. They assaulted me there because I refused to write exactly what they asked me to write. Along the line I began to bleed. I was in their custody for three days.
"After three days, my lawyer came but they told my lawyer that they would release me because they needed to see my husband."
She was charged to court and from the court, remanded in Kirikiri prison where she spent two weeks before she was released on bail.
"In the charge sheet, they wrote that I took N24 million."
When her husband returned, he went to Alagbon, and "They asked us to write a petition again. We paid N200,000 for the petition at Alagbon. After writing the petition, they told us that they will handle the case.”
When Mr. Ayodele was arrested by Apapa Police Division, his wife said that Alagbon FCID said she shouldn't worry as they would signal Apapa Police Station to release him.
"Since that time till now, the Alagbon FCID has not signed or sent the signal. Meanwhile, the third day my husband was detained, they charged him to court and remanded him at Kirikiri prison till now.”
Efforts by SaharaReporters to reach the Alagbon FCID IPO in charge of the matter, whose name was given as Mr. Olufemi, to comment on the matter failed as he could not answer calls made to his phone number, nor respond to text messages sent to him till the time of filing this report.