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Some officers of the Nigeria Police Force Criminal Investigation Department (FCID), Abuja, have allegedly compromised an ongoing financial dispute after reportedly pocketing ₦3 million recovered from a debtor and halting further investigation into the case, SaharaReporters has learnt.
According to documents and petitions obtained by SaharaReporters, the matter — which began as a personal debt disagreement between a Lagos-based businessman, Mr. Kehinde Ojulari, and a couple, Mr. Charles Anyanebechi and Mrs. Evelyn Anyanebechi — has now developed into serious allegations of corruption, obstruction of justice, and abuse of office against senior police officers attached to the FCID.
In a petition dated February 21, 2024, and addressed to the Deputy Inspector-General of Police, Force Criminal Investigations Department, Abuja, Mr. Ojulari explained that the couple had defaulted on a repayment agreement made in the presence of police officers after they were found to owe him money from a failed business transaction, SaharaReporters gathered.
The letter, which referenced case number CR:3000/X/FHQ/ABJ/ADM/T.5/Vol.280/98, stated that both parties appeared before FCID investigators, where the Anyanebechis admitted their debt and signed an undertaking to repay the money on or before March 2, 2024, SaharaReporters reported.
However, Mr. Ojulari alleged that after the meeting, the debtors “deliberately refused to honour the agreement”, while the police officers handling the case stopped answering his calls and messages, SaharaReporters noted.
When the businessman attempted to escalate the issue, he claimed the same officers began protecting the suspects, thereby frustrating his attempts to recover his funds, SaharaReporters learnt.
In a separate petition addressed to the Chairman of the Police Service Commission (PSC) and titled “Petition Against IPO Musa Bako of FCID Abuja, AIG Ibrahim Zango, and Mr. Charles & Mrs. Evelyn Anyanebechi for Obtaining Under False Pretence, Threat to Life, False Allegations, and Obstruction of Justice,” the complainant accused the officers of colluding with the suspects to pervert justice, SaharaReporters reported.
“I was defrauded of about ₦24,000,000 by Mr. Charles Anyanebechi, assisted by his wife Evelyn. When I sought to recover the money through lawful means, Charles threatened me that if I involved the police, I would regret it,” the petition partly read, according to SaharaReporters.
“He later used his influence to manipulate the case at FCID Abuja. The officers admitted he owed me and he signed an undertaking to pay, which he failed to honour. But the police have refused to act,” the petition continued, as seen by SaharaReporters.
In an audio recording obtained by SaharaReporters, a phone conversation between Mr. Ojulari and one of the investigating officers, IPO Musa Bako, revealed that the officer confirmed that ₦3 million had been paid by the debtors — money that the complainant insists was never given to him.
The audio, dated July 19, 2024, also revealed that when the matter was transferred to the Police Special Fraud Unit (PSFU) in Ikoyi, Lagos, progress was being made until senior officers at FCID Abuja allegedly intervened and recalled the case, reportedly demanding 10% of the recovered funds, SaharaReporters gathered.
“His wife was arrested at PSFU Ikoyi on July 18, 2024, and their car was seized before AIG Zango interfered and moved the case back to Abuja,” Ojulari told SaharaReporters.
“The FCID officers told me they are not debt recovery agents, but they are the same people shielding the suspects and collecting part of the money,” he added in his statement to SaharaReporters.
The complainant further alleged that letters he sent to the Deputy Inspector-General of Police’s office were deliberately blocked from reaching the superior officer by subordinates who claimed they were “only mediating the matter,” according to SaharaReporters.
“They said they were only trying to mediate, but how do you mediate by collecting money from one side and hiding it from the other?” Ojulari asked in frustration while speaking to SaharaReporters.
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