November 10, 2014
/
By:
ofcounsel_admin/
- 0 Comments
/
- Law News
An Information and Communications Technology company, Citadel Oracle Concept Limited, has sued the Managing Director of Ad’Mas Digital Technologies Limited, Chief Onny Igbokwe, Access Bank Plc and six others for alleged impersonation, forgery and contract scam.
The claimant is seeking, among other prayers, court’s declaration that the alleged diversion of about N169m worth of contract awarded in its name but executed without its knowledge by Igbokwe and others was fraudulent, unwarranted, wrongful and unlawful.
Also listed as defendants in the suit marked LD/4353/14 are Mrs. O. Kama, Mrs. Folashade Oyebode and Mr. Chris Ozim.
Others are Ad’Mas Digital Technologies Limited, Technologies Distributors Limited, Zinox Telecommunications Limited, Pirovics Engineering Services Limited and Access Bank Plc.
In a 90-paragraph statement of claim filed through its lawyer, Ayo Faleti of Alpha Solicitors, the claimant alleged that the defendants diverted a contract awarded in its name by the Federal Inland Revenue Service in December 2012.
The claimant averred that it bid for a contract to supply the FIRS with computer products and had reached an agreement with the second defendant, Kama, to submit documents and follow up on its behalf.
According to the claimant, Kama was a long-time friend and the arrangement was to save cost and time since the claimant was in Ibadan and FIRS was in Abuja.
The claimant averred that sometime in the course of reporting back, Kama informed the claimant that she had seen its name on the list of shortlisted candidates for the contract and that the claimant should issue a letter of acceptance, so she could tender it without delay upon request.
According to the claimant, an acceptance letter dated December 13, 2012 was issued to Kama as well as a letter authorising her to accept the offer on claimant’s behalf.
The claimant added that trouble started sometime in December 2012 when Kama invited the claimant’s Managing Director, Benjamin Joseph, to a meeting with the first defendant, Igbokwe, in Lagos.
According to the claimant, Igbokwe introduced himself as someone who had strong connections within FIRS and had a say in who the contract would be awarded to.
The claimant’s MD alleged that Igbokwe tabled two propositions before him, one of which was that the claimant should close its eyes to the contract and accept N15m being a part of the profit accruing upon execution of the contract.
According to the claimant, Igbokwe had allegedly explained that the balance of the profit would be used to bribe FIRS officials to facilitate the award of the contract.
The alternative was that the claimant would accept and execute the contract but had to make an advance payment of N85m into Igbokwe’s account to be used in facilitating the contract.
The claimant averred that its MD turned down the two propositions and was consequently threatened by Igbokwe that he would incur his (Igbokwe) wrath if he made any attempt to cause him embarrassment, adding that he would use his influence to ensure that the contract was not awarded to the claimant.
The claimant said that two weeks after the meeting, the second defendant, Kama, called its MD, informing him that due to his refusal to accept their proposal, his company had lost the contract and that it had been awarded to another company, which she did not name.
The claimant said that during the annual convention of the Dominion City Church, a church that its MD attended, Kama gave testimony of having won a huge contract but she did not disclose the details to the congregation.
However, during a routine visit to the FIRS zonal office in Ibadan, one of the claimant’s officials was confronted that the claimant owed N8.1m as un-remitted Value-Added Tax, adding that it accrued from the contract the claimant had executed for the FIRS.
The claimant further stated that upon check, it was also discovered that another N8.1m was entered against the claimant’s name as Withholding Tax remitted to the FIRS in respect of the contract.
Following this, the claimant said it wrote to Igbokwe and Kama asking if they knew about the executed contract but they refused to respond.
The claimant said it then instructed its lawyer, Chief Afe Babalola, to formally write the first, second and fifth defendants, demanding to know their involvement in the deal.
According to the claimant, following the letter, the parties had a meeting in company with their lawyers in Ado-Ekiti on September 26, 2013 and the first, second and fifth defendants admitted to having executed the contract in the claimant’s name.
They subsequently proposed, through their lawyer, to pay the claimant N5.7m as 70 per cent of the profit on the executed contract.
The claimant said it asked the defendants to disclose how they came about the documents used in processing the contract in its name but they refused leading the claimant to launch an investigation.
According to the claimant, it was discovered that the defendants had forged several documents and had also opened an account in its name with the Awolowo Road, Ikoyi branch of Access Bank.
Signatories to the account numbered 0059202675 were named as the third and fourth defendants, Oyebode and Ozims, who were unknown to the claimant.
The claimant is asking the court to award N500m as damages against all the eight defendants.
It is also asking the court to award a separate N200m against Access Bank for fraudulently or negligently allowing the defendants to open an account in its name without its authority.
The claimant is equally asking the court to order the defendants to remit to it the profit or accrual from the executed contract, estimated to be about N69m.
But in their own statement of defence and counter-claims, the third, fourth and sixth defendants, Oyebode, Ozims and Technology Distributors Limited respectively have denied all the allegations levelled against them and put the claimant to the strictest proof of them.
Oyebode and Ozims, MD and legal officers to the sixth defendant respectively stated that they were neither privy to the contract agreement nor acted fraudulently or criminally with the opening of the said account.
In their 62-paragragh statement of defence, Oyebode and Ozims explained that sometime in November 2012, Igbokwe approached their company, the sixth defendant, with two contract documents from the FIRS.
According to them, one was in the name of the fifth defendant, Ad’Mas Digital Technologies Limited, belonging to Igbokwe and the other was in the name of the claimant.
They averred that Igbokwe told them that he was representing both companies and would like to take HP laptops on credit from, with a promise to pay up as soon as the FIRS paid for the supply.
They said it was the sixth defendant’s normal business practice that if a company was taking its products on credit for onward contractual supply to a customer, staff of the company would have to be co-signatories to an account opened for the purpose of disbursement of funds as regards the contract.
According to them it was to ensure security of payment for the products taken on credit and it was the basis on which Oyebode and Ozims were nominated by the sixth defendant as co-signatories to the account in relation to the FIRS contract.
Oyebode, Ozims and their company are vehemently contending the claimant’s prayer for award of damages against them.
Besides, they filed a 13-paragragh statement of counter-claim where they prayed the court to award a total of N700m against the claimant for writing a petition to the Central Bank of Nigeria accusing them of defrauding the country during the period that investigations were still going on by the Special Fraud Unit.
According to them the SFU investigation conducted into the case did not find them culpable.
They are asking for an order of the court compelling the claimant to retract the said letter to the CBN dated February 5, 2014, which they said has had negative impact on their personal and corporate goodwill.
They are also asking the court to compel the claimant to issue a statement of apology to be published in three national newspapers including ThisDay Newspaper.
Our correspondent gathered that the other defendants had yet to file any reply to the claimant’s writ of summons as of the time of filing this report.
Click here to read from source.