Innoson vs GT Bank: How Industrialist Defrauded Bank And Bullied The EFCC, The Police And Courts With his Political Connections

Mr. Innocent Chukwuma, the Anambra-born industrialist and Chairman of Innoson Nigeria Limited, may have succeeded playing the victim with his arrest, on Tuesday, by the Economic and Financial Crimes Commission (EFCC), but there are clear indications that he attempted to defraud Guaranty Trust Bank (GTBank) through forgery of documents. Mr. Chukwuma was released on bail on Thursday. Part of Mr. Chukwuma's success manifested in his arrest being promoted as an ethnically biased move as well as one to hamper a local industrialist.

Mr. Innocent Chukwuma, the Anambra-born industrialist and
Chairman of Innoson Nigeria Limited, may have succeeded
playing the victim with his arrest, on Tuesday, by the
Economic and Financial Crimes Commission (EFCC), but
there are clear indications that he attempted to defraud
Guaranty Trust Bank (GTBank) through forgery of
documents. Mr. Chukwuma was released on bail on
Thursday. Part of Mr. Chukwuma's success manifested in
his arrest being promoted as an ethnically biased move as
well as one to hamper a local industrialist. Social media
platforms have continued to fizz with this narrative, with
many users threatening to close their accounts with GTBank
and urging others to do same.
GTBank, Chukwuma's supporters argued, is out to do Mr.
Chukwuma and Innoson Motors in because of his ethnicity.
The saga dates back to 2009, when GTBank, with which
Innoson Motors is a customer, granted the auto assembly
company a series of credit facilities totaling N2.4 billion. The
loans represented part-finance and working capital for the
importation of new motorcycles, motorcycle spare parts,
agricultural machinery spare parts and plastic
manufacturing equipment.
Sources told SaharaReporters that under the loan terms
agreed by Mr. Chukwuma on behalf of Innoson, proprietary
interest in the imported items was exclusively consigned in
favor of the GTBank.
This, in strict terms, means that the bank owned the
imported goods. As such, the original shipping documents
(Bills of Lading), exclusively obtained by SaharaReporters,
sources further disclosed, were duly held by GTBank and
remain in its possession.
On account of the bank's exclusive ownership of the goods,
explained those knowledgeable about the transaction, only it
can transfer ownership to Innoson or any other party.
A condition in the loan agreement for the release of the
goods by the bank to Innoson was the payment of 25% of
the value of each Letter of Credit transaction by the auto
assembly company.
SaharaReporters learned the Mr. Chukwuma, on behalf of
Innoson, approached GTBank requesting the release of the
shipping documents without fulfilling the condition requiring
him to pay payment the agreed 25% of the value of each
letter of credit. On account Innoson's failure to meet the
condition in the agreement, the bank turned down the
request.
What followed stunned and riled the bank. It discovered in
June 2011 that the shipping documents for goods it
declined to release to Innoson because of its failure to meet
the agreed conditions had fraudulently been obtained by
Innoson.
SaharaReporters learned that Innoson, on the instruction of
its Chairman, had forged GTBank’s endorsement on the Bills
of Lading to the shipping line, fraudulently clearing the
imported items, which consigned to the bank.
This means that being the property of the bank, the items
should never have been cleared from the ports without the

bank endorsing the original shipping documents in favor of
Innoson or any third party.
What Innoson did, revealed sources, was to forge the
signatures of Messrs Taofeek Olalere, Dan Attah, Bunmi
Adeyemi and Amazu Amalachukwu, all GTBank staff, as well
as the bank’s stamp on all the shipping documents to clear
the goods at the ports. Insiders said the bank never
endorsed or transferred the shipping documents to Innoson,
as their original copies remain in the bank’s possession.
Displeased, the bank reported the matter to the Police, to
which, insiders further said, Mr. Chukwuma told that the
documents were released to him by the bank. The Nigerian
Police launched an investigation into the bank’s complaint.
This took in a forensic examination of the signatures on the
documents and established that they were forged by Mr.
Chùkwuma and his accomplices to fraudulently clear the
goods the Nigerian Ports Authority (NPA).
Police sources said what they knew was that Innoson and
Mr. Chukwuma deliberately designed a scheme to steal
from the goods from the bank through forgery and
misrepresentation. The theft of the goods, which served as
the bank’s collateral, left a debt in excess of N1.6billion as
at September 26, 2012.
The Innoson Chairman was arrested and interrogated the
EFCC. After the interrogation, EFCC sources disclosed, he
agreed to make monthly payments into Innoson’s account
until his company's indebtedness to the bank is completely
liquidated.
However, that agreement was breached, said sources.
In
September 2013, GT Bank expressed its disappointment by
petitioning the Police, which deemed Mr. Chukwuma
culpable. He was subsequently charged to court.
The case (No. FHC/L/565C/2015) is currently pending
before Justice J. Faji of the Federal High Coury, Ikoyi, Lagos.
The Police slammed charges of fraudulent clearance of
goods, forgery, illegal conversion, stealing and conspiracy
on Innoson Nigeria Limited, Mr. Chukwuma, Charles
Chukwuma, Maximian Chukwura, Mitsui Osk Lines and
Annajekwu Sunny. At the last proceedings, the matter was
adjourned to November 21, 2017 for arraignment/or hearing
of a motion for issuance of Bench Warrant.
Innocent Chukwuma

Innocent Chukwuma

Innoson would later approach GT Bank for a reconciliation of
his account and pleaded for debt forgiveness.
The bank agreed and reconciliation was carried out on the
account, which had a debit balance of N1,654,481,895.04 as
at December 31, 2011. On account of the conciliatory
posture by Mr. Chukwuma and EFCC intervention, GTBank,
said authoritative sources, agreed to forego the N559m,
which represented default charges that had accrued on the
account and debited in line with the loan agreement it and
Innoson.

On the basis of this, the bank decided to accept from
Innoson the sum of N1.095billion as full and final payment
of the company's indebtedness to the bank with the proviso
that it must be paid in full not later than (30) days from the
date of the letter written conveying the decision was written
to Innoson.
Innoson, however, would stun the bank again when it filed a
suit (No: FHC/AWK/CS/2012) against the bank at the
Federal High Court, Awka, Anambra State, claiming that its
account with the bank had been debited for excess charges
totaling N559,374,072.09. He obtained a judgment in excess
of N4.7billion against the bank from a judge said to be his
ally.
This was despite breaching the amicable agreement
between the company and the bank for a full and final
settlement of N1,095,107,822.95, which saw the bank forgo
the sum of N559,374,072.09, which accrued on its account
during the period which he abandoned it.
To stall the criminal proceedings against him and his
company, Mr. Chukwuma instituted suits at the Federal
High Court, Abuja, as well as the Federal High Court, Awka
in January 2014 against the Inspector- General of Police,
Nigeria Police Force and investigating officer(s), seeking
declaratory and injunctive reliefs, including orders
restraining the Police from commencing criminal
proceedings against him and his company.
To thwart the bank’s recovery bid as well as distract it from
focusing on the criminal action and civil actions filed for
recovery of the debt, Mr. Chukwuma and his company,
revealed sources, have continued to institute lawsuits before
various courts, claiming frivolous and outrageous sums
against the bank.

Giving reasons for Mr. Chukwuma's arrest, the EFCC, in a
statement signed by Mr. Wilson Uwujaren, its spokesman,
Mr. Chukwuma refused to respond to invitations by the
commission after initially being granted administrative bail
by the commission, while his surety could also not be found.
He was also said to have resisted arrest.
“Unfortunately, the industrialist resisted arrest and stirred
controversy by bringing six truck-loads of thugs to block the
entrance to his Plot W1, Industrial Layout, Abakaliki Road,
Emeni, Enugu, home.
“This was after he initially misled the Police Command by
informing them that his home had been invaded by armed
robbers and kidnappers despite the fact that operatives of
the commission duly identified themselves to policemen
guarding his home," said the EFCC.
His thugs added the commission, assaulted its operatives,
forcing the EFCC to call its Enugu office for reinforcement.
“In all of this, the commission’s operatives acted with
decorum and civility. No one was manhandled or assaulted
by the EFCC team and not a single shot was fired, despite
the provocation.
“Chief Chukwuma and his brother, Charles Chukwuma (who
is still at large), are being investigated by the Insurance and
Capital Market Fraud Section of the Commission’s office in
Lagos over matters bordering on N1, 478, 366, 859.66 fraud
and forgery.
"The industrialist, among other infractions, allegedly used
forged documents to secure tax waivers,” said the
commission.
GT Bank, on Thursday, released a guarded
statement, saying it would not want to speak about some of
the allegations because they are already before the courts.
It, however, maintained that it would take necessary legal
steps when its rights are infringed upon.
What the bank did not say, explained sources, was that in
responding to Innoson’s motion for a stay of criminal
proceedings at the Court of Appeal, Justice J.S Ikyegh,
on September 17, dismissed the motion as unmeritorious
and ordered that proceeding in the criminal case against
Innoson should proceed.

On October 12, the Police filed an application (No. FHC/
L/565C/2015) for the issuance of bench warrant against Mr.
Chukwuma, Charles Chukwuma and Annajekwu Sunny for
fraudulent clearance of goods, forgery, conversion, stealing
and conspiracy presently pending before Federal High Court,
Ikoyi, Lagos.
The current hoopla quickly became political as Mr.
Chukwuma mobilized lawmakers in the Senate who in turn
began pushing an ethnic narrative over his arrest and
detention by the Economic and Financial Crimes
Commission. Sources told Saharareporters that Mr.
Chukwuma had become a law unto himself, using political
connections to circumvent official scrutiny. They said during
ex-President Goodluck Jonathan’s era, Mr. Chukwuma was
untouchable. During one of his court cases in Lagos, A
federal judge who appears to be at his mercy of Mr.
Chukwuma’s lawyers Justice Saliu Saidu of the Federal High
Court in Lagos had to warn him that he would not be
intimidated.
After his arrest by the EFCC, the forces against the anti-
corruption Czar, Ibrahim Magu at the Nigerian Senate came
out of the woodworks, even with the Senate President,
Bukola Saraki making a ridiculous assertion with a rhetoric
question on the floor of the Senate wondering if the FBI
would intervene in a dispute between Ford Motors and an
American bank.
The worsen the case of official collusion with Mr.
Chukwuma, the Attorney General of the Federation,
Abubakar Malami claimed he had not been briefed about Mr.
Chukwuma legal issues, but a cursory check shows that the
police is prosecuting Chukwuma through the office of the
AGF.
Yesterday, a lawsuit filed by lawyers before Justice Rabiu-
Shagari of the Federal High Court in Lagos by Mr.
Chukwuma's lawyers challenging his detention through a
fundamental rights enforcement lawsuit was curiously
withdrawn by his lawyers, a sign that he had achieved his
objectives using his political connections to bully his bank
and browbeat the courts and law enforcement agencies
investigating the case of forgery against him.

Some of the forged documents and some originals....