A Logistics Services providing company, Castle Logistics
Services Limited, has petitioned the Assistant Inspector-General of
Police, of Zone 2, Onikan, Lagos, over an allegation of false
presence, fraudulent conversion and diversion of the sum of two
hundred and fourteen million, six hundred and ninety-five thousand,
four hundred and forty-five naira, forty-nine kobo by Jumia
food.
In the petition dated the 24th day of December, 2018,
signed by one Mrs. Catherine Azubuike, and made available to
TheNigerialawyer (TNL), the petitioner alleged that they entered
into a Service Level Agreement, sometime in August 2016, wherein
they are to provide personnel services and equipment to Jumia food
for delivery of food supply requests made online by its customers,
adding that it also involves the collection of monies and
consequent remittance of same to Jumia.
It was alleged that on May 2018, the contract became determined
by Castle for gross failure to adhere to the terms by Jumia. Jumia
was said to have been able to pay for only August, 2016 to March,
2018, and fell short of the payment of N214, 695,445.49, and upon a
thorough investigation into the payment collection system, they
found out that Jumia without Castle’s consent and permission gave
to some of the Riders, Jumia food’s personal POS for collection of
payments from customers, and effectively those payments were
rendered directly into Jumia food designated accounts., adding that
Jumia stole and converted the said sum for own use.
According to the petition, Castle demanded Jumia food to provide
it with complete bank reports of the transactions on those POS
machines, but Jumia refused.
“Jumia food refused but rather chose to randomly estimate a
percentage of the total funds received from those POS machines as
funds related to orders handled by castle. This resulted in huge
monthly shortfalls on orders handled by Castle and Jumia Food kept
demanding Castle to remit funds for those shortfalls without
providing the POS reports.
Castle also alleged that further findings later showed diversion
of fund, and that Jumia deceived them into remitting funds to its
Zenith bank account with clear intention to permanently deprive
them of its use. The petitioner stressed that the riders acted on
the behest of the Managing Director of Jumia food, Mr. Guy Futi.
The petition also included the issue of non-remittance of VAT and
WHT by Jumia to the Tax authorities.
The petitioner is therefore calling on the Assistant
Inspector-General of Police to investigate the issue and see to it
that justice is served.