A civil rights group, the Civil Rights Realisation and Advancement Network (CRRAN), has petitioned the Chief Judge of Enugu State, alleging a conspiracy involving court officials and a private legal practitioner to unlawfully detain a point-of-sale (POS) operator, Mr. Omotara Yusuf, and fraudulently withdraw nearly N5 million from his account under suspicious court orders.
In the petition addressed to the Honourable Chief Judge of Enugu State and signed by CRRAN President, Olu Omotayo, Esq., the group narrated how Mr. Yusuf, a registered Access Bank POS agent operating under the name TEEJAT VIDEO MART in Ogun State, was allegedly detained based on two controversial court orders emanating from the Enugu South Magisterial District.
“We write to you in respect of the above-mentioned matter on behalf of Mr. Omotara Yusuf, a businessman… at Niyi Complex, Abekoko, Ifo, Ifo Local Government, Ogun State,” the petition began.
According to the petition, Mr. Yusuf was unlawfully detained from June 26 to June 30, 2023, at the Nigerian Police Area Command in Sango Ota, Ogun State, based on two court orders obtained by one Barrister Chidiogo Maduekwe. These orders were reportedly signed by Mrs. F.N. Nosike, Assistant Chief Registrar of the Magistrate Court in Enugu.
Mr. Yusuf, the petition said, had no prior relationship with the applicant in the court case, one Mr. Umeizu Nzube, and was not a party to the suit. However, he was arrested and detained, and the sum of N4,995,000 was removed from his Access Bank account (POS 0098887612) in execution of the said orders.
The transaction in question allegedly began on May 24, 2023, when one Mr. Alabi Akeem and his associates visited Yusuf’s office to perform a cash withdrawal via transfer, claiming they needed the money to buy a vehicle. “They thereafter transferred the sum of N4,995,000 to his Access Bank POS… and collected cash… They paid him N50,000 as POS charges,” the letter stated.
Yusuf later discovered that his account was placed under a “Post No Debit” order on May 26, 2023, followed by a court-ordered transfer of the full amount to Alabi Akeem’s Kuda Bank account on June 23, 2023.
“When he went to his bank to ask why the deduction… the same court order was used by the Police Area Command… to detain him from 26th of June to 30th of June 2023,” the petition read.
On October 26, 2023, Mr. Yusuf traveled to Enugu to investigate the court orders and met with Mrs. Nosike, who reportedly disclaimed the signatures on the orders. “She said the signatures were done on her behalf and she does not know anything about it and she has been trying to stop her staff from forging her signature,” Yusuf alleged.
Subsequently, a meeting was convened in Mrs. Nosike’s office, attended by:
- Mr. Umeizu Nzube, the applicant in the suit,
- Barrister Chidiogo Maduekwe, his lawyer,
- Mr. Omotara Yusuf and his brother, Alhaji Alaro,
- A lawyer engaged by Mr. Yusuf, Charles Ifenze Ugwu.
“At the meeting, Umeizu Nzube promised to refund his money on January 29, 2024, but till date the money is yet to be refunded,” the letter stated. Upon contacting Mrs. Nosike again, Yusuf claimed she said: “Go and arrest Umeizu Nzube and Barrister Chidiogo Maduekwe. I have done my best.”
CRRAN condemned the development, describing it as “an act of perversion of the course of justice and an attack on the Rule of Law in Nigeria.”
“We urge you to, in the interest of justice, invite Mrs. F.N. Nosike with a view to authenticate the signatures on the orders of court which she denied,” the group wrote. “The actions of Mrs. F.N. Nosike and her cohorts is an act of perversion of the course of justice and an attack on the Rule of Law in Nigeria.”
CRRAN further submitted: “The detention of Mr. Yusuf based on the court orders was a ploy to intimidate him not to challenge the unlawful removal of monies from his account… Some court officials led by Mrs. F.N. Nosike and aided by Barrister Chidiogo Maduekwe used the instrumentality of the Court to defraud Mr. Omotara Yusuf and detained him in a civil suit in which he was never a party.”
They called on the Chief Judge of Enugu State and Governor Peter Mbah, who was copied in the letter, to urgently intervene and ensure justice is done.
“The Court is the last hope of the common man and therefore it is incumbent on the authorities including the Enugu State government not to allow this rule of the jungle to prevail on the Rule of Law in the state,” the petition concluded.
