FOLLOWING investigations by the Independent Corrupt Practices and Other Related Offences Commission (ICPC) into allegations of fraudulent purchase and development of police land by Corpran International Limited, the company’s Managing Director, Andy Chime, has filed a suit to stop the probe.
The ICPC had invited Chime and his wife, also a director in the company, for questioning, based on alleged violations of the Independent Corrupt Practices and Other Related Offences Act, 2000, in the process of buying and developing the property.
Other persons have also been invited by the ICPC, including officials of the Nigeria Police and the Nigerian police Mortgage Bank, in connection with the allegations. It was gathered that the ICPC, which had “gone very far” in its investigations, according to a source in the commission, had also received help from the Central Bank of Nigeria, CBN, Corporate Affairs Commission, CAC, as well as the Nigerian Financial intelligence Unit, (NFIU).
These allegations were also captured in a report by The ICIR which disclosed that along with Chime, two former Inspectors-General of Police (IGPs), Solomon Arase and Ibrahim Idris, were linked to the illegal sale and development of the land, originally meant for the construction of barracks in Abuja.
Chime and Solomon Arase, former Inspector General of Police, IGP, who was recently removed from his position as the Chairman of the Police Service Commission, PSC, have instituted separate court cases against the ICIR and its editor and reporter in relation to that story.
However, Chime’s suit against the ICPC, filed on Tuesday, June 25, 2024, urged the court to grant an injunction perpetually restraining the anti-graft agency from inviting or arresting him and his wife based on the allegations surrounding the police housing contract.
He further requested the court to declare that a Memorandum of Understanding (MoU) between his company, Corpran International Limited and the police, which permitted him to develop the land, is outside the statutory mandate of the ICPC.
This is despite the fact that one of the commission’s duties, according to the ICPC Act, is to receive and investigate reports of offences committed or attempts to commit offences under the Act.
Court documents obtained by The ICIR showed that Chime also demanded N200 million as general damages and N500 million as exemplary damages to be paid by the ICPC, among other prayers.
In his suit, Chime claimed the ICPC’s investigations were instigated by his former lawyer, Francis Mgboh, with whom he had a fallout over a business deal, to malign him.
Chime also based his requests to the court on the fact that there were subsisting suits on the issue, including one instituted by his company against Mgboh, and another instituted by Mgboh against the police, Ministry of Police Affairs and other defendants.
A legal practitioner who spoke with The ICIR, Chukwubuikem Azoro, confirmed that such subsisting suits did not impede investigations by the ICPC or other security agencies.
“It does not bar investigations,” Azoro told The ICIR.
Apart from the lawsuits against The ICIR and the ICPC, Chime and Arase, who was then Chairman of the Police Service Commission, had filed a petition with the police against The ICIR and its editor.
Their petition led to an invitation of The ICIR reporter, Nurudeen Akewushola and Executive Director, Dayo Aiyetan, by the Nigeria Police Force National Cybercrimes Centre, (NPF-NCCC), over allegations of cyberstalking and criminal defamation.
The invitation was honoured by both journalists on May 28, leading to their detention for nine hours.
Ijeoma Opara is a journalist with The ICIR. Reach her via [email protected] or @ije_le on Twitter.