Man escapes assassination shortly after release from prison

A 54 year-old miner, Alhaji Ibrahim Ibuoye last weekend in Lagos escaped death by the whiskers moments after he was released from Ikoyi Prison.

Source said the Arado, Irepodun Local Government Area Kwara State born businessman who is the chairman/ chief executive officer of GB Ibuoye Nigeira Limited was arrested last Sunday by Police operatives attached to zone 2 Onikan, Lagos led by one Supol Taofeek and was arraigned on Wednesday 15, 2017 on allegation of attempted kidnap and murder of an unnamed son of one Mr. Abraham Akanle.

It was gathered that though he was admitted to bail, he could not fulfill the bail condition before Friday 17, 2017.  However, sources hinted further that moments after regaining his freedom, he was furiously chased after and shot at by unknown gunman right in front of Ikoyi prison but the suspected assassin missed target.

Narrating his ordeal in his hospital bed at Egbeda, a suburb in Lagos metropolis amid intense pains sustained while running for dear life, the visibly distraught Miner traced his ordeal to his ex-business partner who he claimed trumped up the kidnap/ murder attempt allegation against him following a petition he lodged with the EFCC on a #92 million royalty debt which his ex-business partner owes the federal government.

According to him, “I know the source of my travail; it is the handiwork of my ex-business partner.  I got to know one Mr. Abraham Akanle sometime in 2008 when I wanted to do some mining works at Ojo Barracks and he accepted to assist me in procuring a licence from the Ministry of Defence for the purpose.

He requested for #15m as the total cost of procuring the licence which I gave to him and he was able to procure it. But when we wanted to start job at the Barracks, Military authorities prevented us on the ground that the documents we were parading were fake.

In the mean, Mr. Akanle assured that I should not allow the incident to bother me that much and that he was going to ensure that I get my money back and promised to work out an alternative. The following week, he came with a suggestion that we moved to Itele, a hilly site in Ogun State which belongs to former President Olusegun Obasanjo adding that it would not cost more than #3million naira to secure the site.

And because I had worked near the area before, I agreed with him and gave him the money and shortly afterward, the approval came and we moved into the site and commenced job pending when he would get the papers from the Defence Ministry perfected or get a refund of my money.”

Continuing, Alhaji Ihuoye said, “Things were moving well until Mr. Akanle brought in his wife into the picture as a partner and another Aremo Saheed Arowolo who was like Omo onile who he claimed facilitated the approval of the site.

He did not stop at that, he changed an earlier agreed sharing formula, started using my staff against me and even went further to ask that income realized from the mining be paid directly into his account while I be paid #10,000.00 daily on the ground that it was him that facilitated the approval to work on the site.

I could not understand where that was coming from so 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 Demola Ikuforiji, a close friend of chief Obasanjo to come into the matter since it was on his land we were working.

That move was again, truncated by Mr. Akanle. Things degenerated to a point in 2015 when I had to withdraw some of my loyal staff from the site because by this time, he had bought over some of my staff as well.

I equally ordered that work at the site be stopped because we were operating in my company’s name and the royalty that was due to the federal government was not paid neither was I  paid my due as well. He later connived with one of my staff, one Sunday Soguro and they petitioned the Police that I had a gun and that I was planning to kill him.

I was arrested and taken to Idimu Police station but at the Area Commander’s office, I met other Policemen who claimed they were from zone 2 and that we were going to zone 2. It was at zone 2 that I was told that my offence was an attempted murder allegation.

Initially, I was given the impression that I was being arrested on the order of chief Obasanjo and so, I called someone who is close to him to find out what my offence was and only for that man to call Mr. Akanle first to inform him of my travail and he was told that it was not chief Obasanjo who arrested me, that it was my staff whom I planned his assassination that petitioned the Police.

But while investigation was on, God arrested the petitioner and he confessed that it was Mr. Akanle that commissioned him to lie against me. The Police wanted to charge the petitioner for false information but the same Akanle prevailed on them also using chief Obasanjo’s name. That was how I was left off that hook.

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 #92m royalty to the federal government. I had to petition the EFCC that though the debt was actually incurred on my company’s name but that the money was set aside and lodged in Mr.Akanle’s account.

The EFCC invited him but he did not go so they went to his house and picked up his wife which made him showed up.  While the investigation was on, I was told that a senior Police officer of the rank of AIG called the chairman of EFCC, Mr.  Ibrahim Magu to discontinue the matter on the ground that Mr. Akanle was related to ex-President Obasanjo but the same source also told me that Magu insisted that it was federal government’s money that was in contention and that the allegation has to be investigated.

We were therefore, asked to come back on a Wednesday of the week when Policemen stormed my house on  a Sunday while I was having my breakfast and bundled me into their waiting van and taken to zone 2. It was at the Police Station that I was told that Mrs. Taiwo Adenike Akanle petitioned against me that I wanted to kidnap and kill her son.

That was after the Police had laid siege to my house and harassed my family for days when they couldn’t see me. At the court, eight lawyers including one from the Directorate of Public Prosecution DPP appeared against me and prayed that I should be committed to prison on the ground that I was a notorious kidnapper who if allowed to move freely will become more vicious.

The Magistrate who sensed that there was a vested interest, told the lawyers that I was entitled to a bail and added that so many innocent persons had languished in jail on account of sine-die Pronouncement. She therefore, insisted on hearing the matter. However, I was to receive the shock of my life when I was called out on Friday that my bail condition had been met and that I should go.

When I insisted that I wouldn’t leave until my relations show up, prison warders violently pushed me out fueling speculation that all was not well.  Outside the prison, I beheld some fierce looking persons and took to my heels while they chased after me and when I looked back, I identified my IPO Taofeek and other unknown persons running after me and I ran as fast as my legs could carry me shouting for help.

I scaled a fence and landed on back in a compound and heard sporadic gunshots. It was the piece of broken bottles on the fence of the compound I scaled that cut my hands, pierced my stomach and tore my clothes into shreds. I lost my GSM handsets in the process.  I was later rushed to a nearby hospital by sympathizers in that compound after I narrated to them that my life was in danger.

As I speak to you now, my life is not safe; Mr. Akanle wants me dead so as to cover the track of the #92 million naira he owed the federal government as well as the money he owes me. Presently, my Toyota corolla by which I drove to zone 2 is still being held because Mrs. Akanle alleged that it was the vehicle that I used in attempting to kidnap her child; that same child whose school fees I paid when they had no money. ”

Lawyer to Alhaji Ibuoye, Mr. Destiny Takon who described the whole incident as sad, 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. That is the level our Police have degenerated to. 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.”