The Assistant Inspector General of Police, Zone 2 Police Command, Joseph Mbu, on Thursday debunked the claim that he tortured a foreign exchange dealer, Alhaji Suleiman Yerima alongside his friend.
Mbu stressed that the claim was a conscious attempt by Yerima’s group to divert attention from their fraudulent activities.
The suspect had claimed he was made to dip his face into a bucket of water, by one DSP, Ibrahim Dantoro, who was acting on the order of Mbu.
Yerima who petitioned President Muhammadu Buhari, alleged that he alongside his friend, Uwem Anita were detained for 80 days by the police and the Economic and Financial Crimes Commission. He claimed his friend, Uwem Antia, was blindfolded and beaten.
The AIG while responding to the allegation on Thursday during a press briefing noted that Yerima’s claim was diversionary.
He stated that the command had received three different petitions against the group consisting Yerima, Antia and Chief Reagan Edet and investigations indicated that the three were fraudsters with court cases.
Mbu added that two bankers who fell to the groups trick had been dismissed.
Mbu averred, “I read in the papers about some people saying I ordered their torture. These are people who specialised in defrauding people. Somebody gave you N300m and asked for dollars, and the next day you disappeared. Those who borrowed from businesses have lost their capital, while those who worked in banks have lost their jobs.
“They failed to tell the press how they offered Dantoro N50m so that the matter would be swept under the carpet. We will not allow injustice.”
Also commenting on the allegation, the Operation Commander of Legal in Zone 2 Police Command, Chukwu Agwu, said the suspects were released since April to the EFCC, adding that the torture claim was just a thing of their imagination.
He said, “Yerima and his group fraudulently obtained N424m from two victims with a promise to give them its dollar equivalent in February 2015. Contrary to their promise, they disappeared into thin air with the money.
“The matter was reported to the AIG Zone 2 Police Command, Lagos, where the victims revealed that the group had duped another victim of over N200m the same day, but the victim reported the case to the EFCC.”
He added that Yerima and his friend were rounded up by EFCC due to one of their victims’ petition.
Comments