Company director drags UBA, AIG to court over alleged harassment, manipulation of loan facility
By Jude-Ken Ojinnaka
A Lagos based businessman and company director, Kolawole Tosin, has dragged the Assistant Inspector General of Police (AIG) Force Criminal Investigation Department Alagbon, Lagos and United Bank for Africa (UBA) before a Federal High Court sitting in Lagos over alleged intimidation and harassment in respect of N20 million loan facility.
In a twenty-two paragraphs affidavit sworn to by Kolawole Tosin and filed before the court by his counsel, Chief Abdullahi Tony Dania, the deponent averred that sometimes in 2013, he contacted one Mr. Ishiaka Ajakaye, an agent and asked him to source a loan for the sum of N20 million for him from any of the financial institutions or banks within Lagos.
The agent eventually sourced for the aforesaid loan which was granted by the United Bank for Africa and a property as collateral was equally sourced by the Applicant’s agent who has made statement to that effect to the AIG
He averred that before giving the loan, UBA conducted due diligence on the loan pre-disbursement by forensic audit and was satisfied before the loan was disbursed
The Applicant said he conducted a forensic audit of his account with UBA and discovered very serious discrepancies, extortions, and over-bloated figures. Consequently, he instituted a suit at the Lagos High Court in respect of the matter.
On issue of collateral, it was averred that UBA related with Mr. Ishiaka Ajakaye conclusively before granting the loan and this fact has not been controverted at the police headquarters.
Surprisingly, the Applicant was subsequently arrested by the Nigerian Police at the instance of the bank, with a reason that the applicant used as collateral, a property owned by Alhaji Aliyu Attah, a retired Inspector General of Police without the consent of the owner.
During interrogation, the Applicant explained to the AIG how the collateral was sourced.
The agent was arrested and he explained to the AIG in the presence of the Applicant that the Applicant was actually innocent of whatever allegation, adding that he (Mr. Ishiaka Ajakaye) had transacted directly with the UBA in respect of the use of the property in issue, as third party collateral.
However, instead of charging both the agent Mr. ishiaka Ajakaye and UBA for shoddy deal on collateral, he said the AIG for whatever reason has deliberately refused to charge them.
Instead, alleged that the AIG at the instigation of UBA and the former Inspector General of Police, filed a charge against the Applicant to intimidate and coerce him into unwholesome compromise.
The Applicant contends that he has a constitutional right to freedom from unnecessary intimidation, torture, threats, and baseless or unjustifiable criminal charges calculated to force him to accept to pay over N60 million above his actual indebtedness to UBA.
The applicant has vehemently refused to accept the figure and against which he has a suit against UBA which is currently pending at the Lagos High Court, Igbosere.
He averred that unless the court stops the respondents, they would continue to make life miserable for him and continue to bark orders at the Applicant, intimidating him and treating him like a common criminal and ultimately laying a false allegations against him.
Consequently, he contends that it would be in the interest of Justice to grant the Application and restrain the Respondents generally from further undermining the rights of the Applicant and attempting to further arrest or detain him as it relates to this commercial or civil transaction or any matter connected to same.
But In a counter affidavit sworn to by a staff of the bank Obiora Ugwuanyi, he made an oath, stating the truth as it relates to the above transaction as follows;
That sometimes in 2013, Floormate Services Ltd through its director applied for an overdraft facility in the sum of N20,000,000.00 (Twenty Million Naira) on certain terms and conditions which Floormate Services Ltd duly accepted, drew down, and subsequently utilized the entire facility.
Pursuant to the above offer, Floormate Services Ltd brought a property at 5 Eko Street Parkview Estate Ikoyi Lagos which belonged to a director of company Mr. Aliyu Ibrahim Attah as collateral for the facility.
From the commencement of the said facility to the grant of the facility till completion, the UBA dealt with the Applicant on behalf of the company
Upon presentation of the property, the bank was informed that Ibrahim Attah was a director of the company and the applicant presented a letter of authority and consent of Alhaji Aliyu Attah to use his property as collateral for the grant of the loan.
That before the grant of the loan facility UBA engaged the services of external solicitors to conduct its routine diligence before the grant of any facility at the land registry Alausa Ikeja and at the Corporate Affairs Commission.
Thereafter a third party deed of legal mortgage was secured over the property belonging to Ibrahim Aliyu Attah located at No 5 Eko Street, Parkview, Ikoyi, Lagos of which the original title document was handed over to UBA.
That whilst the UBA was taking steps to liquidate the debt owed to it by Floormate Services Ltd, the company filed an action at the High Court of Lagos State in 2015 against the bank alleging overcharges and excess interest on the company’s account.
That surprisingly, on the 8th of October 2020, the bank was invited by AIG for the investigation of case of conspiracy, forgery, and stealing involving the Deed of Third Party Legal Mortgage.
That upon the bank honoring the invitation of the AIG, he was informed that the Mortgagor had written a petition against the bank and some other persons alleging conspiracy to steal his property as the title documents were stolen and his signature on the deed of legal mortgage obtained by fraud.
The bank averred that it does not control the apparatus of the Nigeria Police and did not instigate any arrest or detention of any person.
The 2nd Respondent(UBA) further averred that the 1st Respondent (AIG) is also investigating the 2nd Respondent for the said offenses and have on several occasion been invited by the Police for questioning and clarification. The Letter of invitation dated 2nd March 2021 and 23rd April is hereby attached and marked Exhibit C and D respectively.
The bank further averred that the Police upon diligently carrying out its investigation released a Police Investigation Report dated 21st April 2021 which chronicled the illegal activities of the Applicant and his company.
The assertions in the Applicant’s affidavit are untrue and calculated to mislead this court as the bank did not at any point in time instigate the Police against him
That criminal evidence of Conspiracy, Forgery, Obtaining by False Pretenses, and stealing of title documents were found against the Applicant by the AIG and not the UBA and as a result of the above, the AIG charged the Applicant and his accomplices for the crime allegedly committed.
That UBA is a victim of the Applicant’s criminal activities and has suffered severe loss as a result of the Applicant and his company obtaining a facility from the bank by False Pretense and stealing the title documents upon which the 2nd Respondent parted away with its depositor’s funds.
Consequently, the bank’s rights have by the singular action of the Applicant been infringed upon as the Applicant and his company stole the sum of N20,000,000.0 (Twenty Million Naira) from UBA using fraudulent means.
The bank argued that it does not control the apparatus of the AIG and is not in charge of how it carries out its investigation.