*Says The Bank Is Sponsoring False Publications To Enlist
Sympathy
*Vows To Take Seek Damages In Court Against Some Newspapers For
Defamation
*Commends Judiciary For Refusing To Be Intimidated
![image](/2020/10/lawreport.jpg")
![image](/2021/06/Legal-Research-On-The-Go2.jpg")
The Petro Union Oil and Gas Company Limited has described as
“defamatory” the recent media publication regarding the protracted
dispute between the company and Union Bank of Nigeria PLC
![image](/2021/05/NBASBL2021.jpg")
The Cable, Guardian ThisDay and other newspapers had made a
publication showing that a cheque from Gazealt Ltd issued to Union
Bank by Gladstone Kukoyi and Associates was fake. The publication
likened the situation of the P&ID Ltd contract scam which led
to an Arbitral Award made in favour of P&ID Ltd against Nigeria
to the tune of $6.6 billion in damages and lost income, plus a
daily interest of $1.2 million which was later set aside on the
basis of fraudulent contract. The publication warned that if the
court rules that Nigeria should indeed pay the £2.556 billion award
to Pedro Union, the country will wake up and start running up and
down to save its comatose treasury.
In reaction, the Pedro Union in a statement by its management
titled “DEFAMATORY PUBLICATIONS AGAINST PETRO UNION OIL AND
GAS COMPANY LIMITED” said the publication is baseless and
meant to enlist sympathy and to spread falsehood adding that the
publication is aimed at maligning the reputation of Pedro
Union.
The Company stated,
“The Management of Petrol Union Oil and Gas Company Limited
wishes to use this medium to debunk the series of malicious and
defamatory publications done by THISDAY Newspaper, THE GUARDIAN
newspaper, the Cable and other online platforms, being used and
sponsored by Union Bank of Nigeria to enlist sympathy and spread
falsehood using the media.
“It has become imperative to respond to these baseless
publications intended to feed the general public with lies –
lacking proper investigation to know the truth. The purport of
these publications are without doubt intended to damage, malign and
undermine the reputation of our Company by well-orchestrated lies
told with reckless impunity in an elusive attempt to deceive the
general public by changing the entire narrative.
“We feel highly disappointed that these media outlets,
journalists and publishers used in propagating these ignoble and
shameful publications fail to abide by the ethics and attendant
high calling of their profession. In this time and age, one would
expect that every established and seasoned publisher ought to
thoroughly investigate their story and get their facts properly
before publishing same. Thus, it is quite unfortunate and
regrettable that some of these media outlets have decided to sell
their conscience for a few coins, just like what Judas Iscariot did
in the Holy Scriptures.
“It is our position that anyone who cares to judge this matter
fairly must be historically conscious, as this is a case that has
been in the Court of Law for the past 11 years. For this reason, we
provide a little background of the case to enhance the
understanding of the public as it relates to the true facts of this
case in a bid to facilitate rational judgment.”
Giving background of the situation, Pedro Union narrates that a
cheque of £2,556 billion was issued in its favour through Gladstone
Kukoyi and Associates for the construction of three refineries in
Nigeria. Union Bank denied receiving such cheque and despite
several efforts and intervention by the Economic and Financial
Crimes Commission, EFCC, the Bank refused to return the cheque
The Petrol Union said it approached Federal High Court Abuja and
obtained judgment for the Bank to return the money in question.
When Union Bank appealed, the judgement was affirmed by the Court
of Appeal and even the Supreme Court.
“Petrol Union Oil and Gas Company Limited, an established Oil
Company in the Oil and Gas sector had sometime in 1993, written a
letter to the then President of Nigeria, General Sani Abacha
through the chairman of Petro Union Oil and Gas Company Limited
(Prince Isaac Okpala) now late, intimating the then President and
Commander-in-Chief of the Armed forces of the Company’s plan and
intention to bring in Foreign Direct Investment (FDI) to the tune
of £2556,000,000.00 (Two Billion, Five Hundred and Fifty-Six
Million Pounds Sterling) only into Nigeria through her foreign
counterparts, Gazeaft UK Limited and other foreign partners, for
the good of the country. The said fund was meant for the building
of Refinery and other Petrol Chemical plants in Nigeria. In April
1994, the Company applied and obtained the requisite approvals for
the establishment of three Petroleum Refineries and Petrochemical
Plants in Nigeria for export purposes in conjunction with some of
its foreign technical partners.
“The Company went further and sought approval from the Federal
Ministry of Finance, Central Bank of Nigeria and relevant
Government agencies, and obtained the go-ahead to approach her
bankers to secure the funds into Nigeria.
“The Company, in furtherance of her intention to be transparent
in the dispensing of the said fund, contracted a reputable
Financial and Management Accounting firm (GLADSTONE KUKOYI AND
ASSOCIATES) for the project in the spirit of transparency, through
whom the fund was to be channelled as the Financial Accounting firm
for the Refinery Projects. This was meant to show proper
accountability of the fund to its foreign partners and to the
Federal Government in general. The Accounting firm (GLADSTONE
KUKOYI AND ASSOCIATES) was to use their bankers (Union Bank of
Nigeria) as the host bank to secure the fund of £2,556,000,000.00
(Two Billion, Five Hundred and Fifty-Six Million Pounds Sterling)
only. This direct foreign investment was meant for the building of
the Refineries, which was to be located in Lagos, Calabar and
Anambra state respectively. The said fund was deposited vide a
Barclays Bank of London cheque with No.010140 issued by Gazeaft UK
Limited the foreign counterpart of Petro Union Oil and Gas Company
Limited, who raised the fund in partnership with other foreign
partners, of which Prince Isaac Okpala (Now late) was the Chairman
of both companies (Gazeaft UK Limited and Petro Union Oil And Gas
Company Ltd). The cheque in question was deposited and received by
the branch manager at Union Bank of Nigeria branch at Broad Street
in Lagos State on behalf of Petrol Union Oil and Gas Company
Limited on the 7th of June 1994 – paid in by GLADSTONE KUKOYI AND
ASSOCIATES.
“Upon receipt of the cheque, Union Bank of Nigeria Plc. on the
29th of June, 1994, wrote a letter to Petro Union Oil and Gas
Company Limited via GLADSTONE KUKOYI AND ASSOCIATES stating that it
had been instructed by Central Bank of Nigeria (CBN), to intimate
Petrol Union Oil and Gas Company Limited to proceed and forward its
application for the approval of the said amount of
£2,556,000,000.00 (Two Billion, Five Hundred and Fifty-Six Million
Pounds Sterling) only to the Federal Ministry of Finance, of which
the company did as instructed by Union Bank of Nigeria Plc.
“Relying on the letter from Union Bank of Nigeria Plc., Petro
Union Oil and Gas Company Limited proceeded to the Federal Ministry
of Finance and obtained an Approval on the 29th of June, 1995, and
in the reply letter from the Federal Ministry of Finance, giving
its approval and blessing to the project, instructing Petro Union
Oil and Gas Company Limited to proceed to its bankers for her
foreign exchange transactions and utilization of the fund already
deposited via Union bank of Nigeria Plc., Petro Union with the
letter, approached Union Bank of Nigeria Plc., having obtained all
the necessary approvals to utilize it funds deposited via cheque,
through GLADSTONE KUKOYI AND ASSOCIATES.
“Union Bank of Nigeria Plc. suddenly changed the narrative and
initially denied the receipt of the cheque and the fund. It also
denied that any transaction took place at all. After several
efforts were made by Petrol Union Oil and Gas Company Limited to
persuade Union Bank Plc. to release the Company’s funds in their
custody, which all proved abortive, the Chairman of Petrol Union
Oil and Gas company Limited, then petitioned the Chairman of the
Economic and Financial Crimes Commission in 2005, and upon the
conclusion of investigation, the EFCC wrote Union Bank of Nigeria
Plc. by a letter dated the 10th of May, 2005 among other things,
confirmed and established that the said cheque of £2,556,000,000.00
(Two Billion, Five Hundred and Fifty-Six Million Pounds Sterling)
only was deposited into the bank and was received by the branch
Manager of Union Bank of Nigeria Plc., Broad Street, Lagos. The
EFCC then advised Union Bank of Nigeria Plc. in the same letter to
return the cheque with the accompanying documents that came with it
in their custody back to Petrol Union Oil and Gas Company Limited,
if truly the said cheque in question did not clear, or if the bank
did not receive the equivalent of the fund for the cheque in
question. By this time it was now well over 11 years since the
cheque was deposited in Union Bank of Nigeria Plc.
“In spite of the EFCC’s advice, Union Bank Plc. still refused to
return the cheque as instructed to Petro Union Oil and Gas Company
Limited, continued to sit on the Company’s fund and profit from
their evil doing while employing all manner of tactics to delay any
process the company tried take to recover its said fund.
“Petrol Union Oil and Gas Company Limited, being left with no
other option, instituted a Court action against Union Bank of
Nigeria Plc. and 3 others at the Federal High Court, which was
assigned to His Lordship, Justice Abdul Kafarati sitting in Abuja
in the year 2012. After a well contested case, of which Union
bank’s defence was that the case was statute barred, the Federal
High Court overruled the bank’s excuses and gave judgment in favour
of the Plaintiff (Petrol Union Oil and Gas Company Limited) on the
12th of March 2014 and ordered the bank to return the said fund to
the Plaintiff with 15 % interest on the fund from the time it was
deposited till the fund is liquidated. See Daily Trust Publication
of the 12th of March 2014.
“Dissatisfied with the judgment, Union Bank of Nigeria Plc.
immediately appealed the case to the Court of Appeal.. After close
to about four years at the Court of Appeal, the Court of Appeal
delivered judgement on the 6th of June 2018 and upheld the
judgement of the Federal High Court, stating that the appeal of
Union Bank of Nigeria lacked merit. This decision is contained in a
well-detailed judgement delivered by the Court of Appeal A
Certified true copy of the judgement can easily be obtained from
the Court registry should members of the public wish to know
additional facts pertaining to this case. We strongly advice the
journalists interested in this matter to take the hint and conduct
proper investigation, and avoid selling their conscience to the
highest bidder, betraying the oath of their profession.
“Union Bank of Nigeria Plc. lodged a further appeal at the
Supreme Court, but this met a similar fate as judgement was
delivered on the 16th of December 2019 in favour of Petro Union Oil
and Gas Company Limited yet again (third victory). The bank’s
appeal was also struck out for being incompetent and lacking in
merit.
“Having failed at the Federal High Court, the Court of Appeal
and the Supreme Court to emasculate the Company further, Union Bank
of Nigeria Plc. by a letter dated the 17th of January, 2020,
invited the Management of Petrol Union Oil and Gas Company Limited
to a meeting at the bank’s corporate headquarters in Marina, Lagos,
proposing out of court settlement of the matter, only for the bank
to use it as a ploy to orchestrate and perpetrate the illegal
arrest of the Company Directors of Petro Union Oil and Gas Company
Limited, who inherited their positions in the Company as the direct
children of the now late Chairman of Petro Union Oil and Gas
Company Limited. It is worthy of note that the present Directors
(the children in question) were teenagers when this transaction
took place between Union Bank of Nigeria Plc. and Petro Union Oil
and Gas Company Limited.” company said
Pedro Union expressed concern that despite the Supreme Court
decision, the directors of its company were arrested by the EFCC at
the instance of Union Bank and detained for over three weeks
without bail. According to them, the action of Union Bank is a
media trial aimed at diverting attention and making the company to
stop fight for the recovery of its money.
The Company commended the judiciary for refusing to be
intimidated and being the lady hope of the common man
Pedro Union said, “The fact that the bank played so dirty by
using some operatives of the EFCC to effect the illegal arrest
during a board meeting in the bank corporate headquarters, without
any formal invitation by the EFCC to Petro Union Oil and Gas
Company Limited, some days after the Supreme Court’s pronouncement,
goes to show how desperate Union Bank f Nigeria Plc. is.
“The Directors of Petro Union Oil and Gas Company Limited were
molested and denied bail by the EFCC and were only subsequently
arraigned before a Federal High Court in Lagos on criminal charges
on the bank’s instruction, when the lawyers for Petro Union Oil and
Gas Company Limited petitioned the Court to enforce the fundamental
human rights of the Directors of Petro Union Oil and Gas Company
Limited, having been detained for over 3weeks and denied
administrative bail. The latest cheap media trial embarked upon by
Union Bank of Nigeria Plc. was only directed to further frustrate
and tarnish the image of Petro Union Oil and Gas Company Ltd., by
embarking on cheap media trial in order to divert attention and
make the Company give up on its fight to recover the fund from
Union Bank of Nigeria Plc. following the decisions of the Federal
High Court, the Court of Appeal and the Supreme Court.
“At the risk of getting pedestrian, we shall refrain from
providing further details., However, at this juncture, we hope we
have provided adequate clarification, sufficient to debunk the
defamatory publications of the writers and publishers who have so
far demonstrated abysmal ignorance of the facts of this case.
“We are of the form belief that Union Bank of Nigeria Plc. is
tangled beyond salvation; as it has made itself a prisoner of its
own greed and inordinate ambition.
“Instead of the bank showing remorse at this stage and asking
for forgiveness from the Company and the good people of Nigeria,
rather, it has resorted to continue playing dirty, a ploy which
ultimately led to the mysterious death of the Chairman of the
Company and as a consequence, denying the Country of the
establishment of this good and well thought-out projects that would
have generated hundreds, if not thousands of employment
opportunities in the Country – had the projects been allowed to
take-off as scheduled.
“The attempt by Union Bank of Nigeria Plc. to suddenly wake up
and cry foul, and resort to cheap blackmail in the media by using
the print media and online platforms to sponsor lies in order to
whip up public sentiment has failed as the truth is there for all
to see. The various Courts that have adjudicated over this case for
well over 10 years from the Federal High Court, to the Court of
Appeal and the Supreme Court have all consciously stood clear of
all odium in the determination of this case. The Courts have not
given any cause whatsoever to be suspected of proximity to anything
shady and like linen; they have remained stainless and guarded
their office with integrity. In this regard, the attack on the
Courts by the publishers are unfounded and without merit.
“This is to the credit of the of our judiciary system in
Nigeria, which has refused intimidation thus far, to the glory of
God. The process may be slow sometimes, but it always rises to the
occasion when the chips are down and is truly as they say; The Last
Hope of The Common Man.
“Union Bank of Nigeria Plc. like a drowning man is trying to
grab whatever it can lay its hands upon to remain afloat, hence
their resolve to concoct all manner of lies. It appears they do not
even mind whether they make sense or not.
“It is obvious that the spirit of error has come upon Union Bank
of Nigeria Plc.
“Let it be known that in due course, our Company shall review
some of these publications and decide what steps to be taken to
redress the damage done to her by the reckless publications.”
*Says The Bank Is Sponsoring False Publications To Enlist
Sympathy
*Vows To Take Seek Damages In Court Against Some Newspapers For
Defamation
*Commends Judiciary For Refusing To Be Intimidated
The Petro Union Oil and Gas Company Limited has described as
“defamatory” the recent media publication regarding the protracted
dispute between the company and Union Bank of Nigeria PLC
The Cable, Guardian ThisDay and other newspapers had made a
publication showing that a cheque from Gazealt Ltd issued to Union
Bank by Gladstone Kukoyi and Associates was fake. The publication
likened the situation of the P&ID Ltd contract scam which led
to an Arbitral Award made in favour of P&ID Ltd against Nigeria
to the tune of $6.6 billion in damages and lost income, plus a
daily interest of $1.2 million which was later set aside on the
basis of fraudulent contract. The publication warned that if the
court rules that Nigeria should indeed pay the £2.556 billion award
to Pedro Union, the country will wake up and start running up and
down to save its comatose treasury.
In reaction, the Pedro Union in a statement by its management
titled “DEFAMATORY PUBLICATIONS AGAINST PETRO UNION OIL AND
GAS COMPANY LIMITED” said the publication is baseless and
meant to enlist sympathy and to spread falsehood adding that the
publication is aimed at maligning the reputation of Pedro
Union.
The Company stated,
“The Management of Petrol Union Oil and Gas Company Limited
wishes to use this medium to debunk the series of malicious and
defamatory publications done by THISDAY Newspaper, THE GUARDIAN
newspaper, the Cable and other online platforms, being used and
sponsored by Union Bank of Nigeria to enlist sympathy and spread
falsehood using the media.
“It has become imperative to respond to these baseless
publications intended to feed the general public with lies –
lacking proper investigation to know the truth. The purport of
these publications are without doubt intended to damage, malign and
undermine the reputation of our Company by well-orchestrated lies
told with reckless impunity in an elusive attempt to deceive the
general public by changing the entire narrative.
“We feel highly disappointed that these media outlets,
journalists and publishers used in propagating these ignoble and
shameful publications fail to abide by the ethics and attendant
high calling of their profession. In this time and age, one would
expect that every established and seasoned publisher ought to
thoroughly investigate their story and get their facts properly
before publishing same. Thus, it is quite unfortunate and
regrettable that some of these media outlets have decided to sell
their conscience for a few coins, just like what Judas Iscariot did
in the Holy Scriptures.
“It is our position that anyone who cares to judge this matter
fairly must be historically conscious, as this is a case that has
been in the Court of Law for the past 11 years. For this reason, we
provide a little background of the case to enhance the
understanding of the public as it relates to the true facts of this
case in a bid to facilitate rational judgment.”
Giving background of the situation, Pedro Union narrates that a
cheque of £2,556 billion was issued in its favour through Gladstone
Kukoyi and Associates for the construction of three refineries in
Nigeria. Union Bank denied receiving such cheque and despite
several efforts and intervention by the Economic and Financial
Crimes Commission, EFCC, the Bank refused to return the cheque
The Petrol Union said it approached Federal High Court Abuja and
obtained judgment for the Bank to return the money in question.
When Union Bank appealed, the judgement was affirmed by the Court
of Appeal and even the Supreme Court.
“Petrol Union Oil and Gas Company Limited, an established Oil
Company in the Oil and Gas sector had sometime in 1993, written a
letter to the then President of Nigeria, General Sani Abacha
through the chairman of Petro Union Oil and Gas Company Limited
(Prince Isaac Okpala) now late, intimating the then President and
Commander-in-Chief of the Armed forces of the Company’s plan and
intention to bring in Foreign Direct Investment (FDI) to the tune
of £2556,000,000.00 (Two Billion, Five Hundred and Fifty-Six
Million Pounds Sterling) only into Nigeria through her foreign
counterparts, Gazeaft UK Limited and other foreign partners, for
the good of the country. The said fund was meant for the building
of Refinery and other Petrol Chemical plants in Nigeria. In April
1994, the Company applied and obtained the requisite approvals for
the establishment of three Petroleum Refineries and Petrochemical
Plants in Nigeria for export purposes in conjunction with some of
its foreign technical partners.
“The Company went further and sought approval from the Federal
Ministry of Finance, Central Bank of Nigeria and relevant
Government agencies, and obtained the go-ahead to approach her
bankers to secure the funds into Nigeria.
“The Company, in furtherance of her intention to be transparent
in the dispensing of the said fund, contracted a reputable
Financial and Management Accounting firm (GLADSTONE KUKOYI AND
ASSOCIATES) for the project in the spirit of transparency, through
whom the fund was to be channelled as the Financial Accounting firm
for the Refinery Projects. This was meant to show proper
accountability of the fund to its foreign partners and to the
Federal Government in general. The Accounting firm (GLADSTONE
KUKOYI AND ASSOCIATES) was to use their bankers (Union Bank of
Nigeria) as the host bank to secure the fund of £2,556,000,000.00
(Two Billion, Five Hundred and Fifty-Six Million Pounds Sterling)
only. This direct foreign investment was meant for the building of
the Refineries, which was to be located in Lagos, Calabar and
Anambra state respectively. The said fund was deposited vide a
Barclays Bank of London cheque with No.010140 issued by Gazeaft UK
Limited the foreign counterpart of Petro Union Oil and Gas Company
Limited, who raised the fund in partnership with other foreign
partners, of which Prince Isaac Okpala (Now late) was the Chairman
of both companies (Gazeaft UK Limited and Petro Union Oil And Gas
Company Ltd). The cheque in question was deposited and received by
the branch manager at Union Bank of Nigeria branch at Broad Street
in Lagos State on behalf of Petrol Union Oil and Gas Company
Limited on the 7th of June 1994 – paid in by GLADSTONE KUKOYI AND
ASSOCIATES.
“Upon receipt of the cheque, Union Bank of Nigeria Plc. on the
29th of June, 1994, wrote a letter to Petro Union Oil and Gas
Company Limited via GLADSTONE KUKOYI AND ASSOCIATES stating that it
had been instructed by Central Bank of Nigeria (CBN), to intimate
Petrol Union Oil and Gas Company Limited to proceed and forward its
application for the approval of the said amount of
£2,556,000,000.00 (Two Billion, Five Hundred and Fifty-Six Million
Pounds Sterling) only to the Federal Ministry of Finance, of which
the company did as instructed by Union Bank of Nigeria Plc.
“Relying on the letter from Union Bank of Nigeria Plc., Petro
Union Oil and Gas Company Limited proceeded to the Federal Ministry
of Finance and obtained an Approval on the 29th of June, 1995, and
in the reply letter from the Federal Ministry of Finance, giving
its approval and blessing to the project, instructing Petro Union
Oil and Gas Company Limited to proceed to its bankers for her
foreign exchange transactions and utilization of the fund already
deposited via Union bank of Nigeria Plc., Petro Union with the
letter, approached Union Bank of Nigeria Plc., having obtained all
the necessary approvals to utilize it funds deposited via cheque,
through GLADSTONE KUKOYI AND ASSOCIATES.
“Union Bank of Nigeria Plc. suddenly changed the narrative and
initially denied the receipt of the cheque and the fund. It also
denied that any transaction took place at all. After several
efforts were made by Petrol Union Oil and Gas Company Limited to
persuade Union Bank Plc. to release the Company’s funds in their
custody, which all proved abortive, the Chairman of Petrol Union
Oil and Gas company Limited, then petitioned the Chairman of the
Economic and Financial Crimes Commission in 2005, and upon the
conclusion of investigation, the EFCC wrote Union Bank of Nigeria
Plc. by a letter dated the 10th of May, 2005 among other things,
confirmed and established that the said cheque of £2,556,000,000.00
(Two Billion, Five Hundred and Fifty-Six Million Pounds Sterling)
only was deposited into the bank and was received by the branch
Manager of Union Bank of Nigeria Plc., Broad Street, Lagos. The
EFCC then advised Union Bank of Nigeria Plc. in the same letter to
return the cheque with the accompanying documents that came with it
in their custody back to Petrol Union Oil and Gas Company Limited,
if truly the said cheque in question did not clear, or if the bank
did not receive the equivalent of the fund for the cheque in
question. By this time it was now well over 11 years since the
cheque was deposited in Union Bank of Nigeria Plc.
“In spite of the EFCC’s advice, Union Bank Plc. still refused to
return the cheque as instructed to Petro Union Oil and Gas Company
Limited, continued to sit on the Company’s fund and profit from
their evil doing while employing all manner of tactics to delay any
process the company tried take to recover its said fund.
“Petrol Union Oil and Gas Company Limited, being left with no
other option, instituted a Court action against Union Bank of
Nigeria Plc. and 3 others at the Federal High Court, which was
assigned to His Lordship, Justice Abdul Kafarati sitting in Abuja
in the year 2012. After a well contested case, of which Union
bank’s defence was that the case was statute barred, the Federal
High Court overruled the bank’s excuses and gave judgment in favour
of the Plaintiff (Petrol Union Oil and Gas Company Limited) on the
12th of March 2014 and ordered the bank to return the said fund to
the Plaintiff with 15 % interest on the fund from the time it was
deposited till the fund is liquidated. See Daily Trust Publication
of the 12th of March 2014.
“Dissatisfied with the judgment, Union Bank of Nigeria Plc.
immediately appealed the case to the Court of Appeal.. After close
to about four years at the Court of Appeal, the Court of Appeal
delivered judgement on the 6th of June 2018 and upheld the
judgement of the Federal High Court, stating that the appeal of
Union Bank of Nigeria lacked merit. This decision is contained in a
well-detailed judgement delivered by the Court of Appeal A
Certified true copy of the judgement can easily be obtained from
the Court registry should members of the public wish to know
additional facts pertaining to this case. We strongly advice the
journalists interested in this matter to take the hint and conduct
proper investigation, and avoid selling their conscience to the
highest bidder, betraying the oath of their profession.
“Union Bank of Nigeria Plc. lodged a further appeal at the
Supreme Court, but this met a similar fate as judgement was
delivered on the 16th of December 2019 in favour of Petro Union Oil
and Gas Company Limited yet again (third victory). The bank’s
appeal was also struck out for being incompetent and lacking in
merit.
“Having failed at the Federal High Court, the Court of Appeal
and the Supreme Court to emasculate the Company further, Union Bank
of Nigeria Plc. by a letter dated the 17th of January, 2020,
invited the Management of Petrol Union Oil and Gas Company Limited
to a meeting at the bank’s corporate headquarters in Marina, Lagos,
proposing out of court settlement of the matter, only for the bank
to use it as a ploy to orchestrate and perpetrate the illegal
arrest of the Company Directors of Petro Union Oil and Gas Company
Limited, who inherited their positions in the Company as the direct
children of the now late Chairman of Petro Union Oil and Gas
Company Limited. It is worthy of note that the present Directors
(the children in question) were teenagers when this transaction
took place between Union Bank of Nigeria Plc. and Petro Union Oil
and Gas Company Limited.” company said
Pedro Union expressed concern that despite the Supreme Court
decision, the directors of its company were arrested by the EFCC at
the instance of Union Bank and detained for over three weeks
without bail. According to them, the action of Union Bank is a
media trial aimed at diverting attention and making the company to
stop fight for the recovery of its money.
The Company commended the judiciary for refusing to be
intimidated and being the lady hope of the common man
Pedro Union said, “The fact that the bank played so dirty by
using some operatives of the EFCC to effect the illegal arrest
during a board meeting in the bank corporate headquarters, without
any formal invitation by the EFCC to Petro Union Oil and Gas
Company Limited, some days after the Supreme Court’s pronouncement,
goes to show how desperate Union Bank f Nigeria Plc. is.
“The Directors of Petro Union Oil and Gas Company Limited were
molested and denied bail by the EFCC and were only subsequently
arraigned before a Federal High Court in Lagos on criminal charges
on the bank’s instruction, when the lawyers for Petro Union Oil and
Gas Company Limited petitioned the Court to enforce the fundamental
human rights of the Directors of Petro Union Oil and Gas Company
Limited, having been detained for over 3weeks and denied
administrative bail. The latest cheap media trial embarked upon by
Union Bank of Nigeria Plc. was only directed to further frustrate
and tarnish the image of Petro Union Oil and Gas Company Ltd., by
embarking on cheap media trial in order to divert attention and
make the Company give up on its fight to recover the fund from
Union Bank of Nigeria Plc. following the decisions of the Federal
High Court, the Court of Appeal and the Supreme Court.
“At the risk of getting pedestrian, we shall refrain from
providing further details., However, at this juncture, we hope we
have provided adequate clarification, sufficient to debunk the
defamatory publications of the writers and publishers who have so
far demonstrated abysmal ignorance of the facts of this case.
“We are of the form belief that Union Bank of Nigeria Plc. is
tangled beyond salvation; as it has made itself a prisoner of its
own greed and inordinate ambition.
“Instead of the bank showing remorse at this stage and asking
for forgiveness from the Company and the good people of Nigeria,
rather, it has resorted to continue playing dirty, a ploy which
ultimately led to the mysterious death of the Chairman of the
Company and as a consequence, denying the Country of the
establishment of this good and well thought-out projects that would
have generated hundreds, if not thousands of employment
opportunities in the Country – had the projects been allowed to
take-off as scheduled.
“The attempt by Union Bank of Nigeria Plc. to suddenly wake up
and cry foul, and resort to cheap blackmail in the media by using
the print media and online platforms to sponsor lies in order to
whip up public sentiment has failed as the truth is there for all
to see. The various Courts that have adjudicated over this case for
well over 10 years from the Federal High Court, to the Court of
Appeal and the Supreme Court have all consciously stood clear of
all odium in the determination of this case. The Courts have not
given any cause whatsoever to be suspected of proximity to anything
shady and like linen; they have remained stainless and guarded
their office with integrity. In this regard, the attack on the
Courts by the publishers are unfounded and without merit.
“This is to the credit of the of our judiciary system in
Nigeria, which has refused intimidation thus far, to the glory of
God. The process may be slow sometimes, but it always rises to the
occasion when the chips are down and is truly as they say; The Last
Hope of The Common Man.
“Union Bank of Nigeria Plc. like a drowning man is trying to
grab whatever it can lay its hands upon to remain afloat, hence
their resolve to concoct all manner of lies. It appears they do not
even mind whether they make sense or not.
“It is obvious that the spirit of error has come upon Union Bank
of Nigeria Plc.
“Let it be known that in due course, our Company shall review
some of these publications and decide what steps to be taken to
redress the damage done to her by the reckless publications.”