By Emma Nnadozie, Crime Editor
The desire of a Lagos-based businessman, Donatus Dunu, to own a choice property at the highbrow Ikoyi area of Lagos State, has seemingly turned into a nightmare.

In fact, Dunu, the Chief Executive Officer of one of the leading Pharmaceutical Companies in Nigeria, Maydon, has not only ended up losing a whooping N102,400 million which he was allegedly tricked into investing in the property, but stands the risk of losing his life, if care is not taken.

In a desperate effort to save his life and recover his hard-earned money, he has instructed his solicitors to wade into the matter especially, when all attempts he made to get justice from Nigeria’s leading anti-graft body, Economic and Financial Crimes Commission, EFCC, seems to have failed.

His solicitor, Martins Okpaleke of Gerald-Martin and Co. Chambers told Crime Alert that he has dispatched a strongly worded petition to President Goodluck Jonathan for immediate action based on what he alleged as, “Collusion by the Management Of EFCC in the fraudulent Sale And Disposition Of Property Worth About N1 billion situate At And Known As No. 22, Thompson Avenue, Ikoyi, Lagos.

Tracing the background to the ugly incident, his solicitor told Crime Alert that, “Sometime in 2005, one Frank Amah of Chyfrank Nigeria Ltd fraudulently obtained a sum of N102,400 from Mr. Dunu under the false pretense that he was appointed by a  Deputy Controller General of Customs, name withheld,  to sell a Federal Government house allocated to the officer.

Following cancellation of the sales of Federal Government Houses and publicized denial by the Custom Chief that he knew nothing about  the allocation or sale of any such house and never authorized Frank Amah to make any sales of any house on his behalf, the bubble burst.

The house in contention. Insert is Mrs. Farida Waziri, EFCC boss.

Mr. Dunu promptly reported the fraud to the EFCC and subsequent investigation by them revealed that indeed, the Custom Officer had nothing to do with the said allocation and did not engage Frank Amah or Chyfrank Nigeria Ltd to sell any property.   The sum of N102,400 million received by Frank Amah purportedly on behalf of the custom boss was traced to the account of Chyfrank Nigeria Ltd with Zenith Bank Plc.

“On analysis of the account, the Efcc discovered that about N98 million of the N102,400million was converted and used by Frank Amah and Chyfrank Nigeria Ltd to purchase house number 22, Thompson Avenue, Ikoyi, Lagos.

The EFCC thereupon approached the Federal High Court and subsequently obtained an order forfeiting the property to the Federal Government of Nigeria, pending the conclusion of the trial of Frank Amah and his company for money laundering.  The said forfeiture order is now subject of appeal at the Court of Appeal, Lagos Division while the money laundering charge is still pending.

Pursuant to and in furtherance of the forfeiture order, the management of EFCC deployed mobile policemen to No. 22, Thompson Avenue, Ikoyi, Lagos and kept them there.

“The story took a different dimension few months later when Mrs. Farida Waziri took over the mantle of leadership of EFCC at a time when the forfeiture order was still subsisting and the trial and appeals were still pending on the property,.

The property was sold with the active collusion of the Chairman of EFCC and a new occupant moved into it.  Upon the alleged sale of the property, the EFCC Chairman promptly terminated the deployment of mobile policemen to the property and withdrew all the mobile policemen hitherto stationed to the property.

When Mr. Dunu noticed this ugly development, he made concerted efforts to get explanations from the prosecutor of the case but he appeared unenthusiastic about furnishing him with details but he casually informed him that he had been told verbally by the Chairman of EFCC, the head of the Legal section of the Commission and one other person at the legal section to discontinue the criminal cases against Frank Amah and Chyfrank Nigeria Ltd, because house number 22 had been sold.

He further informed that he had not discontinued the case in court because his requests to the Chairman of EFCC and others involved for formal written memo directing him to discontinue the case had been met with deafening silence.

It was also gathered later that the said property was actually sold by Frank Amah after the mobile policemen were withdrawn and that only the purchasers of the property now live and stay at the property under the protection of a private security company.

Subsequent efforts through repeated visits by Mr. Dunu to the EFCC’s offices in Ikoyi, Lagos to obtain a denial or rebuttal from the Commission over the allegation that number 22 had been sold were met with brick-wall of impenetrable and deafening silence.

That is why we concluded that the leadership of the EFCC know everything about the illegalities that have transpired in broad day light, under their nose.

As a pointer top our fears, we gathered authoritatively that the prosecutor of the case, appears to have been subjected to harassment, threats of query and intimidation by the leadership of EFCC for his refusal/failure to discontinue with the cases while unfortunately, the case files on the matter have all been taken away from him.

He has also not only been sent on a punitive transfer out of the legal department but chased and hounded out of the Commission back to the Nigeria Police Force. Worse still, the victim has been under perpetual threat to his life as he has continued to receive messages tasking him to withdraw the case or be eliminated.

That was why we called on the President to cause a high-powered investigation into the matter with a view to remedying all the injustices perpetrated against Mr. Dunu”, he stated.

However, in a swift reaction to the allegations, EFCC spokesman, Femi Babafemi told Crime Alert over the phone that the case is a civil matter which was decided by the court and they had to vacate the policemen from the house in contention.

Her further stated, “The petitioner, Mr. Dunu who was close to Mrs. Ojomo, the then Minister of Housing had bided to buy a property located at number 7, Bell Avenue, Ikoyi.

Mr. Frank Amah was the middle man or a broker for Mr. Dunu.  Dunu paid for the Bell Avenue property and also paid Mr. Frank his commission for the transaction.  It was the commission the co-accused person used in purchasing number 22, Thompson Avenue house.

When the Federal Government discovered the misdemeanor in the Housing selling business, and reversed the entire process, Mr. Dunu was asked to come and take his money from government but he refused insisting on getting the principal sum and commission he paid to Frank, the broker.

It was Mr. Dunu that reported the case to EFCC but after investigation, EFCC discovered that the case was purely a civil case and vacated the property and also withdrew from the case”