Why we arrested Innoson —EFCC

Founder and chairman of Innoson Motors, Chief Innocent Chukwuma, known popularly as Innoson, was on Tuesday arrested by the Economic and Financial Crimes Commission (EFCC).

The anti-graft agency said it had no other option than to arrest the industrialist following his refusal to honour it’s invitation “having earlier jumped an administrative bail granted him in a case being investigated by the Capital Market and Insurance Fraud Unit of the commission’s Lagos office.”

In a statement released on its Facebook wall, EFFC said, “Chukwuma rather than honoring invitation by the EFCC, mobilized six truck loads of thugs pretending to be staff of his company to his residence, where they manhandled EFCC operatives.

“It took reinforcement from the Enugu office of the EFCC to effect the arrest of the industrialist who is currently being grilled by a team of investigators.”

According to EFCC, Innoson was picked up at about 11am at his Savage Crescent , GRA Enugu residence on Tuesday.

But the company denied EFCC’s claim. According to it “There was never a time Innoson was invited by EFCC . Innoson couldn’t have disregarded EFCC invitation at any time. There is a pending suit between Innoson and EFCC at the Court of Appeal. EFCC have previously withdrawn a suit against Innoson from the High Court”, the company said on its Twitter handle.

Recall that the Inspector-General of Police (IGP) had early last month filed an application before the Lagos Division of the Federal High Court praying it to grant a bench warrant against Innoson and four others for not appearing before the court over allegations of forgery.

A litigation officer in the Department of the Public Prosecutions, Federal Ministry of Justice, Noma Wando, had in an affidavit he swore to, declared that the office of the IGP filed charges against Innoson and four others on December 21, 2015.

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According to the deponent, the said charge was served on the defendants through a court order of substituted service dated February 8, 2016. The despondent further said that the office of the AGF took over the prosecution of the case on February 18, 2016.

Innoson and his company as well as Charles Chukwu, Maximian Chukwura, Mitsui Osk Lines, and Anajekwu Sunny are being prosecuted on a four-count charge bordering on falsifying shipping documents amounting to N2.4 billion.

The deponent had also stated that only two of the defendants Mr. Chukwura and Mitsui Osk Lines had continually made appearances in court since the service of the said charge while Innoson Nigeria Limited and its chairman, Mr. Chukwuma, as well as Messrs Chukwu and Anajekwu had refused to appear in court, a situation he said had made it impossible for their pleas to be taken.

 

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