*Says He Never Received N9.7 Billion In His Personal First
Bank Account While Serving As Minister
*Denies Smuggling Exotic Car Stolen From Jaguar UK Assembly To
California: U.S. Govt
*Says The Publications Were Deliberately Calculated To Do Maximum
Damage To His Highly Esteemed person, Hard-earned Goodwill And
Integrity.
![image](/2021/07/Justice-Ejembi-Eko-1.jpg")
![image](/2021/09/lawpnba.jpg")
The former Group Managing Director of Nigeria National Petroleum
Corporation [NNPC] and Minister of Petroleum (State), Dr. Ibe
Kachikwu, has petitioned the Attorney-General of the Federation
against the promoter of The PEOPLES GAZETTE, for alleged defamation
and forgery of bank statement of account.
![image](/2021/07/escrow-service1.jpg")
Kachikwu, in a letter dated 3rd September, 2021 written by his
lawyer, Johnmary C. Jideobi & Co., alleged that an online media
outfit, on its verified Twitter handle, @GazetteNGR twitted at 2:02
pm of 23rd August, 202, alleging erroneously as he (Kachikwu)
while serving as Nigeria’s petroleum minister received N9.7 billion
in his personal First Bank account.
He added that the PEOPLES GAZETTE also published that he
(Kachikwu) smuggled exotic car stolen from Jaguar UK assembly to
California: U.S. Govt.
Kachikwu denied the allegations and expressed concern that the
publications were deliberately calculated to do maximum damage to
his highly esteemed person, image, and hard-earned goodwill and
integrity.
He called on the AGF to graciously approve that a full-scale
investigation be promptly launched into the weighty contents of
this petition.
Read the letter below
25th August, 2021
The Honourable Attorney-General of the Federation,
Federal Ministry of Justice,
Maitama, Abuja.
Attn: The Director of Public Prosecution of the Federation
[DPPF],
Dear Sir,
PETITION AGAINST ONE HILLARY ESSIEN AND THE
PROMOTERS OF PEOPLES GAZETTE
FOR OFFENCES OF CRIMINAL DEFAMATION AND FORGERY
OF BANK STATEMENT OF ACCOUNT
The above subject matter refers.
INTRODUCTION:
We are a firm of legal practitioners and we have been consulted
and our legal services retained by DR. IBE KACHIKWU, former Group
Managing Director of Nigeria National Petroleum Corporation [NNPC]
and Minister of Petroleum (State) [whom we shall henceforth in this
petition be referring to as our client] on whose behalf and express
instruction we present this petition to you.
THE ACCUSATION AGAINST OUR
CLIENT:
The heart and soul of this petition to your distinguished office
is the publication by an online media outfit, PEOPLES
GAZETTE, on its verified twitter handle, @GazetteNGR
twitted at 2:02pm of 23rd August, 2021 alleging
erroneously as follows: “While serving as Nigeria’s petroleum
minister, Ibe Kachikwu received N9.7 billion in his personal First
Bank account. Mr. Kachikwu’s Bank statement also denotes his
appetite for luxury goods & accommodations. The retired sex blogger
declined comments.”
The second defamatory publication by the same PEOPLES
GAZETTE, is titled: “Ex-minister Ibe
Kachikwu smuggled exotic car stolen from Jaguar UK assembly to
California: U.S. Govt.” as authored by one of its
Reporters, HILLARY ESSIEN and published on its
platform: https://gazettengr.com/ex-minister-ibe-kachikwu-smuggled-exotic-car-stolen-from-jaguar-uk-assembly-to-california-u-s-govt/[1]
on the 23rd day of August, 2021 wherein our Client was
falsely and maliciously portrayed as a “smuggler” who
“tried to smuggle the stolen vehicle into the U.S.”.
The aforementioned publications which were deliberately
calculated to do maximum damage to his highly esteemed person,
image and hard-earned goodwill and integrity, falsely alleged that
our client smuggled a stolen Jaguar car into the United States of
America.
Unfortunately, many popular Nigerian media platforms with large
followership have, contrary to all known journalism ethics, joined
the bandwagon by lending their platforms to the said
HILLARY ESSIEN and the promoters of PEOPLES
GAZETTE for the global dissemination of these spurious allegations
against our Client without prior investigation either from our
Client or any other credible source to ascertain their veracity or
otherwise.
THE DAMAGE CAUSED BY THE
PUBLICATION
Our client believes that HILLARY ESSIEN and the
promoters of PEOPLES GAZETTE know that their accusations of
smuggling and corrupt enrichment against him are false but were
propelled by malicious purpose of causing him annoyance,
inconvenience, insult, injury, enmity, hatred, ill will or needless
anxiety. Our Client has no better heritage than integrity, and good
character. They are of paramount importance to the success of his
political endeavours. Our client Was president of GECF (Gas
Exporting Countries Forum – an Association of Ministers of all Gas
Exporting Countries of over 40 countries), President 2016 OPEC (Oil
Producing and Exporting Countries- an Association of all Ministers
of over 40 Countries) APPO ( Association of Ministers of
African Oil Producing countries). In addition our client holds the
Fellowships of several International bodies and Associations, and
is a Recipient of over 40 Global Awards including the states
Assembly recognitions and keys to the states of South Carolina and
Georgia in USA. The effect of your publication has therefore
understandably been to impose a massive global damage to his
reputation as your falsehoods have been read the world over.
Upon reading your online publications, which went viral and have
now saturated the cyberspace; our Client was horribly shocked,
disturbed, embarrassed, traumatized, harassed, flustered,
discommoded, peeved and exasperated. The publications led to
outpouring of several letters and telephone calls from various
quarters including his immediate family members, loved ones,
friends, political associates, and well-wishers of our Client both
home and abroad.
THE TRUE POSITION OF THE PURPORTED N9.7
BILLION NAIRA IN OUR CLIENT’S ACCOUNT
On the alleged fantom “N9.7 billion in his personal First Bank
account”, our client maintains that the purported bank statement of
account, published by PEOPLES GAZETTE was a fraud as same was
criminally doctored. While our client maintains a domiciliary
account with the First Bank, the true position remains that the
purported statement put out a false transaction of #9.7billion
Naira inside a Dollar Domiciliary account! How ridiculous? This
factual relationship between our client and his bank therefore,
makes your spurious claim of a purported deposit of 9.7 billion
naira into our client’s said First bank account most preposterous,
outlandish, bogus and bizarre.
THE TRUE POSITION OF THE ALLEGEDLY
STOLEN/SMUGGLED CAR
Contrary to the false and malicious narrative projected in the
cyberspace by PEOPLES GAZETTE, the true state of affairs remains
that our client bought a Jaguar car in 2009 from Dazz Motors
Nigeria Ltd, Victoria Island, Lagos. Our client paid fully for the
car. After using it for some years, our client shipped the car to
the United States of America, as a gift to a relation. However, the
US customs erroneously impounded it, mistaking it as a stolen car
and for emission control infringement as cars with European and
African emission control specifications cannot be used in the USA.
Our client availed the US authorities of the details and they
reached out to the car dealer. The US authorities apologized for
the error in seizing the car after they were unable to establish
any basis or proof of the suspected stolen vehicle. Whereupon, the
car was subsequently released to our client who brought same back
to Nigeria and returned it to the car dealer. The car dealer
subsequently refunded to our client, the money he had paid for the
Jaguar.
It is pertinent to state that our client NEVER stood trial in
respect of the said car before any court in the US. Rather, it was
he who as a claimant initiated Administrative proceedings at the
United States District Court in which the Jaguar car was a
defendant.
CONLCUSION:
Under our criminal jurisprudence, cyberstalking and forgery are
serious offences with weighty consequences attending to them.
While Section 24 of Cyber Crime (Prohibition) Act,
2015 criminalises the dissemination of information which
the originator knows to be false, for the purpose of causing
annoyance, inconvenience, danger, obstruction, insult, injury,
criminal intimidation, enmity, hatred, ill will or needless anxiety
to another or causes such a
message to be
sent, Section 363 of the Penal Code Act provides
that whoever makes any false document or part of a document, with
intent to cause damage or injury to the public or to any other
person to support any claim or title or to cause any person to part
with property or to enter into any express or implied
contract or with intent to
commit fraud or that may be
committed, commits forgery; and a false document made wholly or in
part by forgery is called a forged document. In securing conviction
for same, the prosecution is required to establish that there is a
document which is false to the knowledge of the person who
presented it as genuine, and who had the intention that the
document be acted upon as genuine to the prejudice of a person. Our
case is that PEOPLES GAZETTE criminally
doctored the domiciliary account of our Client to fraudulently
insert Naira transactions to the tune of 9.7 Billion Naira. On
demand, in the course of your investigation, Certified Copies of
the Statement of Account of our Client furnished by First Bank
wherein it would be seen that no such transaction ever existed
would be availed your office.
PRAYER:
It is against the background of the foregoing that we beckon on
you to graciously approve that a full scale investigation be
promptly launched into the weighty contents of this petition. We
believe that these possible irreversible consequences we have
endeavoured to highlight may be sparred our client with your
timeous intervention so that those who may have taken undue
advantage of advancement in technology to destroy the ethics of
civilised societies would be served their just desert, as ordained
by the laws, should the outcome of your investigation so
dictates.
Do kindly accept, Sir, the assurances of our professional
esteem.
Yours faithfully,
JOHNMARY CHUKWUKASI JIDEOBI, Esq.
Pp: Johnmary C. Jideobi & Co
*Says He Never Received N9.7 Billion In His Personal First
Bank Account While Serving As Minister
*Denies Smuggling Exotic Car Stolen From Jaguar UK Assembly To
California: U.S. Govt
*Says The Publications Were Deliberately Calculated To Do Maximum
Damage To His Highly Esteemed person, Hard-earned Goodwill And
Integrity.
The former Group Managing Director of Nigeria National Petroleum
Corporation [NNPC] and Minister of Petroleum (State), Dr. Ibe
Kachikwu, has petitioned the Attorney-General of the Federation
against the promoter of The PEOPLES GAZETTE, for alleged defamation
and forgery of bank statement of account.
Kachikwu, in a letter dated 3rd September, 2021 written by his
lawyer, Johnmary C. Jideobi & Co., alleged that an online media
outfit, on its verified Twitter handle, @GazetteNGR twitted at 2:02
pm of 23rd August, 202, alleging erroneously as he (Kachikwu)
while serving as Nigeria’s petroleum minister received N9.7 billion
in his personal First Bank account.
He added that the PEOPLES GAZETTE also published that he
(Kachikwu) smuggled exotic car stolen from Jaguar UK assembly to
California: U.S. Govt.
Kachikwu denied the allegations and expressed concern that the
publications were deliberately calculated to do maximum damage to
his highly esteemed person, image, and hard-earned goodwill and
integrity.
He called on the AGF to graciously approve that a full-scale
investigation be promptly launched into the weighty contents of
this petition.
Read the letter below
25th August, 2021
The Honourable Attorney-General of the Federation,
Federal Ministry of Justice,
Maitama, Abuja.
Attn: The Director of Public Prosecution of the Federation
[DPPF],
Dear Sir,
PETITION AGAINST ONE HILLARY ESSIEN AND THE
PROMOTERS OF PEOPLES GAZETTE
FOR OFFENCES OF CRIMINAL DEFAMATION AND FORGERY
OF BANK STATEMENT OF ACCOUNT
The above subject matter refers.
INTRODUCTION:
We are a firm of legal practitioners and we have been consulted
and our legal services retained by DR. IBE KACHIKWU, former Group
Managing Director of Nigeria National Petroleum Corporation [NNPC]
and Minister of Petroleum (State) [whom we shall henceforth in this
petition be referring to as our client] on whose behalf and express
instruction we present this petition to you.
THE ACCUSATION AGAINST OUR
CLIENT:
The heart and soul of this petition to your distinguished office
is the publication by an online media outfit, PEOPLES
GAZETTE, on its verified twitter handle, @GazetteNGR
twitted at 2:02pm of 23rd August, 2021 alleging
erroneously as follows: “While serving as Nigeria’s petroleum
minister, Ibe Kachikwu received N9.7 billion in his personal First
Bank account. Mr. Kachikwu’s Bank statement also denotes his
appetite for luxury goods & accommodations. The retired sex blogger
declined comments.”
The second defamatory publication by the same PEOPLES
GAZETTE, is titled: “Ex-minister Ibe
Kachikwu smuggled exotic car stolen from Jaguar UK assembly to
California: U.S. Govt.” as authored by one of its
Reporters, HILLARY ESSIEN and published on its
platform: https://gazettengr.com/ex-minister-ibe-kachikwu-smuggled-exotic-car-stolen-from-jaguar-uk-assembly-to-california-u-s-govt/[1]
on the 23rd day of August, 2021 wherein our Client was
falsely and maliciously portrayed as a “smuggler” who
“tried to smuggle the stolen vehicle into the U.S.”.
The aforementioned publications which were deliberately
calculated to do maximum damage to his highly esteemed person,
image and hard-earned goodwill and integrity, falsely alleged that
our client smuggled a stolen Jaguar car into the United States of
America.
Unfortunately, many popular Nigerian media platforms with large
followership have, contrary to all known journalism ethics, joined
the bandwagon by lending their platforms to the said
HILLARY ESSIEN and the promoters of PEOPLES
GAZETTE for the global dissemination of these spurious allegations
against our Client without prior investigation either from our
Client or any other credible source to ascertain their veracity or
otherwise.
THE DAMAGE CAUSED BY THE
PUBLICATION
Our client believes that HILLARY ESSIEN and the
promoters of PEOPLES GAZETTE know that their accusations of
smuggling and corrupt enrichment against him are false but were
propelled by malicious purpose of causing him annoyance,
inconvenience, insult, injury, enmity, hatred, ill will or needless
anxiety. Our Client has no better heritage than integrity, and good
character. They are of paramount importance to the success of his
political endeavours. Our client Was president of GECF (Gas
Exporting Countries Forum – an Association of Ministers of all Gas
Exporting Countries of over 40 countries), President 2016 OPEC (Oil
Producing and Exporting Countries- an Association of all Ministers
of over 40 Countries) APPO ( Association of Ministers of
African Oil Producing countries). In addition our client holds the
Fellowships of several International bodies and Associations, and
is a Recipient of over 40 Global Awards including the states
Assembly recognitions and keys to the states of South Carolina and
Georgia in USA. The effect of your publication has therefore
understandably been to impose a massive global damage to his
reputation as your falsehoods have been read the world over.
Upon reading your online publications, which went viral and have
now saturated the cyberspace; our Client was horribly shocked,
disturbed, embarrassed, traumatized, harassed, flustered,
discommoded, peeved and exasperated. The publications led to
outpouring of several letters and telephone calls from various
quarters including his immediate family members, loved ones,
friends, political associates, and well-wishers of our Client both
home and abroad.
THE TRUE POSITION OF THE PURPORTED N9.7
BILLION NAIRA IN OUR CLIENT’S ACCOUNT
On the alleged fantom “N9.7 billion in his personal First Bank
account”, our client maintains that the purported bank statement of
account, published by PEOPLES GAZETTE was a fraud as same was
criminally doctored. While our client maintains a domiciliary
account with the First Bank, the true position remains that the
purported statement put out a false transaction of #9.7billion
Naira inside a Dollar Domiciliary account! How ridiculous? This
factual relationship between our client and his bank therefore,
makes your spurious claim of a purported deposit of 9.7 billion
naira into our client’s said First bank account most preposterous,
outlandish, bogus and bizarre.
THE TRUE POSITION OF THE ALLEGEDLY
STOLEN/SMUGGLED CAR
Contrary to the false and malicious narrative projected in the
cyberspace by PEOPLES GAZETTE, the true state of affairs remains
that our client bought a Jaguar car in 2009 from Dazz Motors
Nigeria Ltd, Victoria Island, Lagos. Our client paid fully for the
car. After using it for some years, our client shipped the car to
the United States of America, as a gift to a relation. However, the
US customs erroneously impounded it, mistaking it as a stolen car
and for emission control infringement as cars with European and
African emission control specifications cannot be used in the USA.
Our client availed the US authorities of the details and they
reached out to the car dealer. The US authorities apologized for
the error in seizing the car after they were unable to establish
any basis or proof of the suspected stolen vehicle. Whereupon, the
car was subsequently released to our client who brought same back
to Nigeria and returned it to the car dealer. The car dealer
subsequently refunded to our client, the money he had paid for the
Jaguar.
It is pertinent to state that our client NEVER stood trial in
respect of the said car before any court in the US. Rather, it was
he who as a claimant initiated Administrative proceedings at the
United States District Court in which the Jaguar car was a
defendant.
CONLCUSION:
Under our criminal jurisprudence, cyberstalking and forgery are
serious offences with weighty consequences attending to them.
While Section 24 of Cyber Crime (Prohibition) Act,
2015 criminalises the dissemination of information which
the originator knows to be false, for the purpose of causing
annoyance, inconvenience, danger, obstruction, insult, injury,
criminal intimidation, enmity, hatred, ill will or needless anxiety
to another or causes such a
message to be
sent, Section 363 of the Penal Code Act provides
that whoever makes any false document or part of a document, with
intent to cause damage or injury to the public or to any other
person to support any claim or title or to cause any person to part
with property or to enter into any express or implied
contract or with intent to
commit fraud or that may be
committed, commits forgery; and a false document made wholly or in
part by forgery is called a forged document. In securing conviction
for same, the prosecution is required to establish that there is a
document which is false to the knowledge of the person who
presented it as genuine, and who had the intention that the
document be acted upon as genuine to the prejudice of a person. Our
case is that PEOPLES GAZETTE criminally
doctored the domiciliary account of our Client to fraudulently
insert Naira transactions to the tune of 9.7 Billion Naira. On
demand, in the course of your investigation, Certified Copies of
the Statement of Account of our Client furnished by First Bank
wherein it would be seen that no such transaction ever existed
would be availed your office.
PRAYER:
It is against the background of the foregoing that we beckon on
you to graciously approve that a full scale investigation be
promptly launched into the weighty contents of this petition. We
believe that these possible irreversible consequences we have
endeavoured to highlight may be sparred our client with your
timeous intervention so that those who may have taken undue
advantage of advancement in technology to destroy the ethics of
civilised societies would be served their just desert, as ordained
by the laws, should the outcome of your investigation so
dictates.
Do kindly accept, Sir, the assurances of our professional
esteem.
Yours faithfully,
JOHNMARY CHUKWUKASI JIDEOBI, Esq.
Pp: Johnmary C. Jideobi & Co