By Olasunkanmi Akoni

A Lagos-based businessman and Managing Director of Kennimus Oil and Gas Limited, Mr. Kehinde Akintoye has urged the Inspector General of Police, Mr. Solomon Arase to investigate circumstances surrounding how he was turned from a complainant to a suspect in the case of an alleged fraudulent oil deal.

Akintoye, in the petition dated January 11, 2016 and signed by his lawyer, Lawrence Oiseomoje, is asking the police boss to investigate an alleged colossal fraud perpetrated by one Kunle Bada with active involvement of some officers of the Nigerian Police, including a retired Commissioner of Police.

He also wants Arase to investigate circumstances leading to the curious striking out of a criminal charge filed by the Special Fraud Unit (SFU) of the Nigerian Police against the said Kunle Bada before Justice Ibrahim Buba of the Federal High Court in Lagos.

Also, Akintoye is asking for prompt investigation into what he termed “colossal diversion of investigation, threat to lives, perpetual harassment and intimidation, compromised investigation, sabotage of justice and fraud.”

According to him, the police boss should investigate the  case currently being handled by X Squad of the Police in Abuja, especially with regard to the persistent threat mounted on him to refund certain money.

which Bada allegedly swindled him of, and which he eventually got using another means with the help of policemen.

Giving details, Akintoye said sometime in 2013, Bada approached him with a business deal to the effect that a retired Commissioner of Police was desirous of getting 33,000 liters of diesel supply in Akure, Ondo State, and appealed that the terms of the contract shall be that payment for the petroleum product supplied shall be made a few days after delivery.

Akintoye said to secure his interest, he insisted that since the Local Purchase Order (LPO) in respect of the transaction was not written in his company’s name, a form of assurance be given to him, hence a Guaranty Trust Bank (GTB) cheque dated March 26, 2013 was purportedly issued by the said retired Commissioner of Police to him.

He added that on the strength of the cheque, the product was supplied to the designated filling station in Akure, but that on the due date, the said cheque was returned upon presentation at the bank owing to the fact that it was a dud cheque.

But when contacted for reaction, a top official of the Police at the SFU who does not want to be named because he was not the authorized person to speak on behalf of the police, said it was not true that the case was not properly investigated.

He also denied the allegation that the SFU caused the criminal charge against Bada to be struck out in curious circumstances by Justice Buba.

His words: “What actually happened was that on the last adjourned date, the prosecuting counsel from the SFU was in court but the complainant (Akintoye) and his lawyer were not in court. The prosecuting counsel urged the court to adjourn the matter and the application was not opposed by the defence counsel but the judge struck out the case on the basis of the fact that the complainant, who was our witness in the case, was not in court.”