Emmanuel Madumere, a Lagos-based entrepreneur, has accused two officers of the Inspector-General of Police Monitoring Team of extortion, intimidation, and connivance with a Chinese person to swindle him of $58,000 and N18m.
Madumere alleged that in 2012, he ordered the foreigner, Eric Bing, to supply him with three four-foot containers containing 11 tonnes of speaker wires for $1.47 per roll.
However, after receiving the shipment and paying N18m for port clearance, Madumere claimed that a significant portion of the merchandise, totaling 27,832 rolls, was counterfeit.
Madumere stated that he returned the items to Bing’s firm with an agreement to reimburse him for the loss, which was $84,310, as well as the figure of N18m, which was the cost of the clearance.
He said he reported the matter to the police, accusing the duo of CSP Dalatu Usman and Clifford Agboji attached to the IGP monitoring team, of aiding Bing.
Madumere alleged that the policemen freed the foreigner and extorted him (complainant) of N2m under the guise of investigating the matter.
These were contained in petitions to the IG and the Police Service Commission, dated February 17, 2022, a copy of which was obtained by our Punch correspondent on Sunday.
The petition read, “My predicament started in 2012 when we entered into a transaction of sale of speaker wires with Navigator Production Limited owned by a Chinese national, Mr. Eric Qi Bing. This resulted in Navigator selling three containers of 40-foot 11 speaker wires at the rate of $1.47 per roll to me.
“After the delivery of the consignment, we discovered that a substantial quantity of the products totaling 27,832 rolls was fake. For this reason, they were not of merchantable quality and unfit purpose. This made all our customers return the same after-sale, thus getting us into a huge loss. We then returned these fake products to Navigator in expectation of it refunding us with its cost which stood at $84,310.1.
“As a law-abiding citizen, I approached the Nigeria Police Force through the Inspector-General of Police Monitoring Unit.
The police invited Mr. Eric Bing on February 16, 2016, through a letter signed by one ACP Ben Nebolisa requesting an interview through one CSP Dalatu Usman.
“Mr. Bing was subsequently arrested in the North after he was tracked. To my greatest surprise, rather than the police make Mr. Bing pay my money or charge him to court, the police let Mr. Bing off the hook, refunding me a paltry sum of $10,000.
“Several efforts by me to make the police, led by CSP Dalhatu Usman and Clifford Agboji, to re-arrest Mr. Eric Bing or his guarantor, Mr. Paul Kaiz, have been unsuccessful. Rather, the two police officers have fraudulently extorted money from me to the tune of about N2m under the pretext of investigations, while shielding Bing whom I believe has compromised them.“
Attempts to reach the acting Force Public Relations Officer, Muyiwa Adejobi, were futile, as repeated phone calls to his number went unanswered.
As of press time, he has yet to respond to a text message sent to his phone number.
Ikechukwu Ani, a spokesman for the Police Service Commission, said he was unaware of the appeal.
