54 year old miner alleges threat to life over N92m debt

54 year-old miner, Alhaji Ibrahim Ibuoye has drawn the attention of the media to an alleged threat to his life by one Abraham Akanle, a former business partner trying to cover up a debt of N92million owed the federal government in a truncated business deal.

Ibuoye while narrating his ordeal to journalists stated that his ill-fated relationship with Akanle began in 2008, after agreeing to do some mining works at Ojo Barracks.

According to him Akanle accepted to assist him in procuring a licence from the Ministry of Defence for that purpose and requested and received N15m as the total cost of procuring the licence.

“But when we wanted to start work at the Barracks, military authorities prevented us on the ground that the documents we had were fakes. But he (ex-business partner) assured that he was going to ensure that I got my money back and promised also, to work out an alternative plan. The following week, he came with a suggestion that we moved to Itele, a hilly site in Ogun State which belong to a former president, stressing that it would not cost more than N3million to secure the site. I agreed, gave him the money and shortly afterwards, the approval came and we moved to the site and commenced job pending when he would get the papers from the Defence Ministry perfected or get a refund of my money.”

Ibuoye confirmed how smoothly the business relationship moved, until his partner’s wife and another man, first name Arowolo, who facilitated the approval of the site joined them. He said the business partner went on to change an earlier agreed sharing formula and started using his staff against him. “He even went further to ask that income realized from the mining be paid directly into his account while I should be paid N10,000 daily on the ground that he facilitated the approval to work on the site.

“I reported the matter to those that knew us and they tried to broker peace without success. I said that could not happen in my own company so, I contacted one Chief Ikuforiji, a close friend of the former president to come into the matter since it was on his land we were working on. That move was again, truncated by my ex-business partner. In 2015 I had to withdraw some of my loyal staff from the site because by this time, he had bought some of them over. I also ordered that work at the site be stopped because we were operating in my company’s name and because the royalty that was due to the federal government and my due were not paid.”

“This present court case came up because sometime in 2016, I received a letter from the Ministry of Mines and Steel that my company was indebted to the tune of N92million royalty to the federal government. I had to petition the EFCC that though the debt was actually incurred in my company’s name but that the money was set aside and lodged in my ex-business partner’s account. The EFCC invited him but he did not go. Some detectives went to his house and picked up his wife which forced him to show up”.

While investigation was on, I was told that a senior Police officer of the rank of an AIG called the chairman of the Commission to discontinue with the matter on the ground that the suspect was related to a former President. I was reliably informed that the EFCC insisted on going on with the matter since the money involved was the federal government’s .

“We were, therefore, asked to come back on Wednesday, but three days before the scheduled date, policemen stormed my house and bundled me into their waiting van to Zone 2. It was at the Police Station that I was told that my ex-business partner’s wife wrote a petition that I wanted to kidnap and kill her son. At the court, eight lawyers appeared against me and prayed that I should be committed to prison on the ground that I was a notorious kidnapper. But the Magistrate who sensed that there was a vested interest, told the lawyers that I was entitled to bail. She, therefore, insisted on hearing the matter”.

“I received the shock of my life when I was called out from prison that my bail condition had been met and that I should go home. When I insisted that I wouldn’t leave until my relations showed up, prison warders violently pushed me out, thereby fuelling speculation that all was not well.”

Ibuoye, affirmed that he began to suspect foul play from the moment he was ill treated by the prison warden.

“Outside the prison, I beheld some fierce looking persons watching my moves. Suspecting danger, I took to my heels, shouting for help with the strangers running after me. When I looked back, I identified one of them. I scaled a fence and landed behind a building, from where I heard sporadic gunshots. Pieces of broken bottles on the fence of the compound I scaled, cut my hands, tore my clothes into shreds and pierced my stomach. I was later rushed to a nearby hospital by sympathizers after informing them that my life was in danger”.

Ibuoye’s cry is that his partner wants to allegedly kill him just to cover the debt owed. “As I speak, I am not safe, my ex-business partner wants me dead so as to cover the track of the N92 million he owes the federal government as well as the money he owes me. Presently, my Toyota Corolla is being held by the Police because it was alleged that I used it in attempting to kidnap the petitioner’s son. This is the same child whose school fees I paid when they had no money.”

Legal counsel to Alhaji Ibuoye, Mr. Destiny Takon, condemned the whole incident, and said he was taking the matter up with a view to ensuring that justice was done. “It is sad that here in Nigeria, we do the right thing for the wrong purpose and sometimes the wrong thing for the right purpose. I salute the courage of the Magistrate who smelt that there was a vested interest in the matter and granted my client bail. But I assure you that this will not be swept under the carpet because we are not in an anarchic nation.” However, sources at Zone 2 stated emphatically that the Police acted legally by by charging the case to court.