In a bid to forestall his illegal arrest and stop the attempt of a Limited Liability company, Best Sea Energy in using police as debt recovery agent, the brother of Zenith bank chairman, Mr Jim Ovia, Victor Ovia and his company, Combase Energy Limited, has dragged the Inspector General of Police before a Federal High Court in Lagos.
In an affidavit sworn to by Mr. Victor Ovia and filed before the court by a lawyer Ukedu Julius, the applicant averred that he purchased petroleum products worth #200million from Best Sea Energy Limited and he kept faith with the transaction by paying over #172million as at January 2016.
He, however, said that the company reported the business transaction to the Inspector General of Police Monitoring Unit and that he was invited.
He revealed that he and the company agreed on the modalities for defraying the balance sum of about #28million.
The applicants then instructed a company, ABR Offshore Limited to pay Best sea Energy company a sum of #20million on his behalf, which was paid, while he paid #9.5million that put paid to the total outstanding in favour of the company.
However, despite the fact that they have totally defrayed the entire sum, the company vide the instrumentality of the Nigeria police have been harassing and intimidating him.
On the 5th of April 2017, he was arrested as the company was claiming the sum of #19,293,000 and he was subsequently granted administrative bail by the X Squad of the Inspector General of Police in Alagbon Close, Ikoyi Lagos.
It was alleged that since then, Best Sea Energy has resorted to illegality by employing the instrumentality of the Nigeria Police, through the Assistant Inspector General of Police, Zone 2, Lagos, Supol Tijani Taofiq O/C Monitoring Unit, Zone 2, Supol Nath, Team 1 MTU by serving a letter dated 20th of August 2018 on them.
Consequently, he was advised by his counsel that the best remedy is to seek redress at the law court.
It was gathered that police could not wait for him to return from his trip outside Lagos before they stormed his residential premises in a commando style, threatening his wife and children and generally terrorizing the neighborhood as if they were criminals.
The applicants thus prayed the court to intervene and prevent the respondents from interfering with or jeopardizing their freedom.
He averred further that if the application was not granted on time their lives might be at peril.
The presiding judge, Chukwujekwu Aneke later adjourned the case till 2nd of November, 2018 for mention.
