Kwara Police Detain ‘Innocent’ Ex-Customs Officer for 29 Days Over N24m Fuel Supply Scam
 |
| Abayomi Igbodipe |
After retiring from the Nigeria Customs Service (NCS) in April, 60-year-old Abayomi Igbodipe spent some time trying to figure out a profitable business he could venture into.
While consulting with friends, associates and family members, he was advised to go into the petroleum products delivery business.
He was told that once he was able to deliver petroleum products to marketers from suppliers, he would get paid commissions for his efforts.
His business model would allow him to play the role of a middleman in the supply of petroleum products from depots to marketers.
When Rotimi Famojuro, who happens to be Igbodipe’s in-law, eventually connected him to some of the depot owners, he began business in mid-June.
With time, however, a fraud his family members believe he knew nothing about was committed, and this led to his arrest by officers of the Kwara State Police Command on July 31.
Since then, he has remained incarcerated.
IGBODIPE’S WIFE SPEAKS TO FIJ
The Invitation Letter that Was Sent to Igbodipe by the FCID on the Matter.
Victoria, Igbodipe’s 58-year-old wife, told FIJ that trouble started when one Joseph Gbenga, an Ilorin-based marketer paid N24 million to two supposed depot owners Igbodipe was introduced to by Famojuro.
“My husband retired from the Nigerian Customs Service office in Ilorin, Kwara State,” said Victoria.
“After his retirement, Rotimi Famojuro, his in-law, and one Oreoluwa Abiodun, his (Famojuro’s) son-in-law, introduced him to the oil supply business.
“This was after my husband had sought his (Famojuro’s) advice on what he thought would be a profitable business he could go into now that he was no longer a Customs officer.
“With time, my husband was introduced to one Mr. Jerry and one Mr. Mike, two supposed oil depot owners, by the same Famojuro.
“This coincided with the period my husband was introduced to one Mr. Joseph Gbenga, an Ilorin-based oil marketer, by one of his former bosses at the customs.
“Mr. Gbenga, at the time, came to my husband to request fuel supply.
“In the process, the oil marketer paid N24 million to the oil depot owners, I mean Mr. Mike and Mr. Jerry, for petroleum supply. In principle, my husband and Famojuro had become facilitators of the deal.”
Victoria also told FIJ that after the transfer was made, the fuel depot owners disappeared.
“No one heard from them (the fuel depot owners) again because in the end, they had disappeared,” said Victoria.
“They also no longer responded to phone calls. This then led to my husband’s arrest on July 31, and he has been in police custody since then.
“Surprisingly, Famojuro is now nowhere to be found. He has fled alongside Abiodun who also seemed to have a hand in the fraud.
“Abiodun would always claim he is a policeman, but I am not even sure he is.”
IGBODIPE’S SON ALSO SPOKE TO FIJ
Bolajoko, Igbodipe’s son, told FIJ that his father is not a fraudulent person.
“It is so unfortunate that this is happening to my father,” said Bolajoko.
“He is not a fraudulent person. Famojuro is now on the run and the truth is, he fled because he knew he had a hand in how the fraud was perpetrated.
“My father is now being made to suffer for an incident he knows nothing about.
“I pray the truth prevails and he gets exonerated in the end. It is just so sad that the people you feel you can trust are the same people who are almost always likely to cause you harm.
“My father is an innocent man who deserves to be enjoying his retirement. He is not supposed to be in police custody.”
FIJ made phone calls to Adeyemi Adetoun, the police spokesperson for Kwara State, on Thursday for a reaction on the matter, but they were not answered. The text message sent to her had also not been responded to at press time.
FIJ later got reports that Oreoluwa Abiodun had been arrested at his hideout in Lagos, someday between August 20 and August 24.
Fij
No comments