Innoson to EFCC: Follow due process in Chukwuma’s prosecution

Innoson Group, the parent company of Innoson Motors Nigeria
Limited, has said the Economic and Financial Crimes Commission
should follow due process in prosecuting its chairman, Chief
Innocent Chukwuma.

The EFCC had, on Wednesday, vowed to arrest Chukwuma and make
him face fraud charges in court.

The EFCC spokesman, Mr Wilson Uwujaren, said this in a
statement, shortly after Justice Olusola Williams of the Special
Offences Court sitting in Ikeja, struck out the case of fraud it
brought against Chukwuma, following the anti-corruption agency’s
failure to produce him in court.

The anti-graft commission wants to arraign Chukwuma and his
company, Innoson Motors Nigeria Limited, for allegedly conspiring
to obtain, by false pretences, containers of motorcycles, spare
parts and raw materials said to be the property of Guaranty Trust
Bank, from Mitsui OSK Lines Limited, Apapa, Lagos.

However, reacting to the EFCC ‘vow,’ the Innoson Group insisted
that the anti-corruption agency should follow due process in
prosecuting Chukwuma.

The Head of Corporate Communications, Innoson Group, Mr Cornel
Osigwe, in a statement in Enugu, expressed concern over the EFCC’s
approach towards its plan to prosecute Chukwuma.

Osigwe equally expressed concerns over the EFCC’s interest in
what he described as a ‘business dispute’ between Innoson and
GTB.

“It has become necessary to address the modus operandi being
used by the EFCC in prosecuting the alleged, trumped-up fraud
charges against the Chairman of Innoson Group at the Lagos State
High Court.

“Are some EFCC officers hell-bent or sent to destroy Chief
Innocent Chukwuma? Are these agents acting alone or are they being
influenced in order to destroy the industrialist?

“This question has become necessary after closely monitoring the
activities or the interest of the EFCC in a clearly business
dispute between Innoson Nigeria Ltd. and Guaranty Trust Bank.

“The Acting Chairman of EFCC, Ibrahim Magu, often times have
appeared as one who does his work based on objective principles and
therefore should look into the activities of some of his officers
who have taken the side of subjectivity,” the statement said.

The Innoson Group, in the same vein, alleged that the EFCC
wanted to force the company to forego a judgment debt awarded in
its favour against GTB.

The statement added, “It is on record that GTB’s indebtedness to
Innoson as of today is over N22bn – arising from two separate
judgment debts in suit numbers FHC/L/CS/603/2006 and
FHC/AWK/CS/139/2013. The judgments were delivered by the Federal
High Court, Ibadan and Awka divisions, respectively.

“The EFCC’s aim in this campaign is to force Innoson to forgo
this huge judgment debt.”

Accusing the EFCC of ‘bias’ and ‘double standard’, Innoson Group
faulted the anti-graft agency for suggesting that Chukwuma was
evading arrest since “it is on record that the EFCC never served
Innoson any court papers nor extended any letter of invitation to
him.”