Embattled Skye Bank Chairman, Tunde Ayeni, Business Partner Fight Over Company Ownership
- Tunde Ayeni accused Hosa Okunbo of mismanagement and criminal diversion of company fund
- The former Skye Bank chairman said Okunbo deceived him to take over his company
- Femi Falana has accused the Police of taking sides with Okunbo after releasing a report without investigation
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The confrontation between the former chairman of default Skye Bank Plc, Tunde Ayeni, and his business partner, Hosa Okunbo, has taken a new dimension following a police report that supported Okunbo.
Ayeni had accused his business partner of alleged diversion of company funds and gross mismanagement, stating that his partner deceived him to take over the company, Ocean Marine Solutions Limited.
He made this claim in a petition, of which the police and the Economic and Financial Crimes Commission were recipients. Following the request for an investigation, the Police announced that Ayeni's accusations were baseless.
It was stated that upon investigation into the petition, it was discovered through the document provided by the suspect that Okunbo took over the company lawfully after acquiring the complaint's interest with N2 billion, and the allegations of criminal diversion of funds were untrue.
The police wrote in a letter addressed only to Okunbo's lawyer, Augustine Alegeh:
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“The allegation of criminal diversion of company funds is baseless, malicious and false as it hasn’t been proven by the complainant”.
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Part of the letter also read:
“From the foregoing, it is pertinent to state that the allegations of stealing and criminal diversion of company funds as alleged by the complainant — Dr. Tunde Ayeni — against the suspect, Capt. Hosa Wells-Okunbo, could not be established
"as there was documentary evidence that was provided by the suspect — Capt. Hosa Wells-Okunbo — which clearly shows that Capt. Hosa Okunbo has lawfully acquired Dr. Tunde Ayeni’s interest in Ocean Marine Solutions Limited (OMS) for the valuable consideration of N2,000,000,000.00 (Two Billion Naira) only,”
Ayeni, Falana questions police method in handling the case
In response to the police report, Femi Falana, who happens to be the lawyer of the complaint said the police never invited Okunbo after the petition. He said only his client was invited for questions.
The lawyer also stated that the police didn't send their probe report to him or his Ayeni, but addressed it to Okunbo and the media. He called on the Inspector General of Police to hand over the case to another investigative team.
Falana said both his clients and the suspect had been trying to resolve the issue amicably, but in an effort to thwart the reconciliation, the police released their report without starting or concluding the investigation.
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In a statement reported by The Cable, he said:
“Contrary to media report, the Monitoring Unit of the Inspector-General of Police has not commenced investigation into the allegations contained in the petition of Tunde Ayeni against his business partner, Capt Hosa Okunbo.
"Apart from inviting Tunde Ayeni to adopt his petition, the Monitoring Unit of the Inspector-General of Police has not taken any other step in the matter.
“Specifically, Capt. Okunbo has not been invited to react to the said petition. To that extent, the petition has not been challenged in any material particular.
“Meanwhile, both parties have since agreed to explore an amicable resolution of their business dispute. Consequently, the lawyers of the parties have held fruitful discussions in respect of the claims and counter claims of their clients. The IGP Monitoring Unit has been fully briefed of the progress made so far in the matter.
“However, in a desperate move to frustrate the amicable resolution of the dispute, the IGP Monitoring Unit is alleged to have produced a “report” of an investigation that has not been conducted.
"As if that was not enough, the ‘report’ was addressed to Capt Hosa Okunbo’s lawyer and circulated to media houses. But up till now, the IGP Monitoring Unit has not deemed it fit to furnish us with a copy of the ‘report’.”
Meanwhile, Legit.ng had reported that Stanbic IBTC founder, Atedo Peterside, criticised the move by the federal government to disburse $1.5 billion into the rehabilitation of the Port Harcourt refinery, which is expected to be completed in 24 months after payment.
Peterside said the government should halt the approval of the fund, as experts want the refinery sold just the way it is, thereby, unburdening the country of the repair cost.
Fakoyejo Olalekan is a Business and Financial Journalist with over three years of experience in covering finance and business activities within Nigeria and offshore. Prior to joining Legit.ng, he worked at Nairametrics where he wrote financial and investment analysis articles. Olalekan is a resourceful and result-driven journalist with a track record for conducting extensive research and interviews to produce articles that provide different perspectives to market activities.
Source: Legit.ng
