Detectives attached to the Force Criminal Intelligence and Investigations Department at Force Headquarters, Abuja, have launched an investigation into an alleged fraud amounting to over N500million allegedly perpetrated by an aviation company, Newrest Airline Services and Logistics Plc, in collaboration with the National Pension Commission and the Lagos State Internal Revenue Services.
Our correspondent gathered that prior to the investigation into the alleged fraud, the office of the Deputy Inspector General of Police, FCIID Abuja, had received a petition, dated December 21, 2016, from a Non-Governmental Organisation, Paths of Peace Initiatives, accusing the aviation company, PenCom and LIRS of allegedly conspiring to perpetrate the alleged fraud.
We are being threatened by our former boss, who retired as a DIG. Hence, we have been told to report at Abuja on Monday with both the suspects and the petitioners
The NGO, which raised the alarm, has on its Board of Directors personalities such as anti-corruption activist, General Ishola Williams [retd), and Mohammed Fawehinmi, a son of the late legal luminary and activist, Chief Gani Fawehinmi.
It was learnt that having carefully perused the petition, the office of the DIG referred the matter to the office of the Commissioner of Police in charge of General Investigations for painstaking investigation with a view to ascertaining the veracity of the claims in the petition.
In the petition, one Comrade James Ogu had informed the NGO that he is a former employee of Airline Services and Logistics Plc, now Newrest Airline Services and Logistics Plc.
According to him, in the course of his in-house union activities, he allegedly discovered fraud, conspiracy, fraudulent misappropriation and embezzlement of staff pension, tax deduction and forgery in the emolument of the staff of the company for many years by the management.
Ogu disclosed that various sums of money, put at over N500million, had allegedly been cumulatively deducted from the emolument of the staff since 2004 or even earlier, thus depriving both government and the affected staff of their benefits.
He alleged, “In the case of PAYE, that explained why for so many years after employment, no staff of the company could boast of tax clearance compliances with the law; the one claimed to have been issued has been discovered to be forged. The contributory pension scheme was even more elaborate as some staff were deliberately not given PIN numbers, which would enable them to trace the alleged remittance made on their behalf
“The result was that, over half of the employees did not and still do not have the requisite PIN numbers that would enable the pension funds administrators to trace their contributions at the appropriate time.”
The National President, Paths of Peace Initiatives, Comrade Dandy Eze, who originated the petition, had told the police that the management of the aviation company actively colluded and approved the elaborate scheme, which he claimed to have involved deductions running into several millions of naira from staff on a monthly basis without remittance to the appropriate quarters as required by law and thereafter maintained a conspiracy of silence.
“These anomalies, which were being perpetrated by the accounts officers for so many years, were later discovered to be a deliberate policy of conspiracy and cover up involving top company management with the involvement of regulatory agencies such as Lagos State Internal Revenue Service, PenCom and its PFA.”
He further claimed that Pencom and the LIRS, which were the appropriate agencies to recover the money, conspired with the company and compromised.
“It is in view of this that we implore the police to use your good offices to investigate this matter and bring this company and the staff, who are involved in the massive embezzlement, to book to serve as deterrent to others,” Eze pleaded.
Further checks revealed that no sooner than the police investigations into the matter commenced and the parties involved were invited by the police than a retired Deputy Inspector General of Police (names withheld) waded into the matter, threatening fire and brimstones and vowing to dismiss police officers involved in the matter, unless they discontinued their handling of the matter.
“We are being threatened by our former boss, who retired as a DIG. Hence, we have been told to report at Abuja on Monday with both the suspects and the petitioners,” one of the detectives said.
At the Ikeja office of the airline, none of the staff was ready to speak with our correspondent as those approached kept mute.
However, an independent source, who preferred anonymity, said that since the police had waded into the matter, it would be administratively prejudicial to discuss the matter on the pages of newspapers.
“Three of our senior officers have volunteered information to the police. Go to them at the FCIID and hear them out,” he said.
When contacted, spokesman, Chief Superintendent Moshood Jimoh, said that the matter was still fresh and that his office had not been officially briefed.
