Ibeto drags EFCC to court

The Chairman of Ibeto Cement, Chief Cletus Ibeto, has dragged the Economic and Financial Crimes Commission, EFCC, and Sir Daniel Chukwudozie to a Rivers State High Court sitting in Port Harcourt, to enforce his Fundamental Human Rights over alleged N4bn allegation against him. The business mogul in suit PHC/268/FHR/2022, is seeking the enforcement of his fundamental rights, praying the court to make an order stopping the EFCC, first defendant, from coming into the matter.

Ibeto in the fundamental rights suit is seeking to prevent the EFCC from investigating the criminal allegations of Fraud bothering on obtaining by false pretense the sum of N4,800,000,000(four billion eight hundred million naira), forgery and criminal breach of trust brought against him by Dozzy Oil and Gas Limited, the second defendant. Dozzy Oil and Gas alleged that it was approached by Chief Ibeto to purchase a parcel of land situate at Reclamation Layout Phase 11 Port Harcourt, but only to discover that the property in issue did not belong to Chief Ibeto and his Companies, when it carried out its due diligence. The Company further alleged that the certified true copy of documents given to it by Chief Ibeto was different from the counter part of the document with the same registration details at the Rivers State Lands Registry copy registered as No 47/47/280.

However, the presiding judge, Justice Boma Diepiri, had pursuant to an Ex parte application filed by Ibeto asked the EFCC to maintain the status quo pending the hearing of the motion for interlocutory injunction against the EFCC restraining it from investigating the allegations of fraud against chief Ibeto on 7th February, 2022. When the court resumed yesterday, Okey Obidieze, counsel for the second defendant, told the court that they have not been served the processes. But, counsel for the Applicant, H.A Bello, who held the brief of Dr. Oyiyechi Ikpeazu, SAN, argued that the processes have been served on all parties. Meantime, Justice Diepiri, urged the applicant counsel to serve the counsels in court and adjourned till 8th of March for motion on notice.