The two factional chairmen of the Association of Nigeria Licensed Customs Agents (ANLCA), Tin Can Island Chapter, Alhaji Mojeed Akanni and Mr Ojo Peter Akintoye have continued to trade words over the recent attack on the chapter secretariat in which persons were wounded, while the bus at the secretariat was taken away.
While Akintoye, claimed to be the substantive chairman by virtue of the election conducted by the association’s NECOM, Mojeed Akanni have also refused to vacate the position he won by the election conducted by the factional board of the association.
Giving details of the attack, Alhaji Mojeed Akanni, informed that 48 hours before the attack, he received a letter from National secretariat signed by Tony Nwabunike, asking him to vacate the secretariat office and handover all the properties to his rival; Akintoye, who the association’s national executive recongnised as the chairman of the chapter.
Giving full details of the attack, he said, “a lady called Onome who they said is their PRO came to my office with a letter, she said she wanted to see me and I said they should allow her in, but they refused stating that she looks suspicious. I came out to her and she said she has a letter for me, I opened it, it was written that I should vacate the secretariat within 48hours that whatever documents that belong to the association should be handed over to Ojo Akintoye”
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“I was so surprised that how can a person like Tony Iju (ANLCA President) with his level of exposure write such a letter, the National President wrote the letter but I do not take him as my National president because the court has asked them to stop parading themselves as such”
“Immediately I got the letter I sent to our leaders and all the necessary Area Commanders. I also sent it to DSS because I need to reply to him on time because any situation might arrive.
“The following morning I went to DPO and I met them there and the DPO said they should go and remain calm, because this issue is still under court process, that there is court order on every issue that was how everybody parted ways”.
“But, I received a call on Sunday around 10 o’clock that some hoodlums came with guns and other harmful things, they overpowered the security men by threatening to kill them with guns if they mess up.
“A brother of mine was there, he had to sneak out and called me, they even said anybody seen placing calls would be fired, they went in they stole one of the buses which contains millions on naira I kept on Friday before it was carted away with the vehicle, Immediately I have to call the DPO of the command that this is what has happened and he said he will make response to the it
“The following Monday I had to rush down to Lagos where I went to meet the DPO and explained what has happened because I am in contact with the Deputy Commissioner of Police Operations, I explained to him and he said I should go and lodge complaints.
“After meeting with the DPO, I went back to my office. You won’t believe around 7:30pm some hoodlums came again with guns, started shooting and carting away people’s load, looking for me and one of our boys called Sherif that they must be killed today.
“Unfortunately one of our guys was around and he was called upon by one Wale Cole belonging to their camp and said he must be killed, they took him away and wanted to drop him inside water, but luckily for him he said Wale Cole said they should kill him, he was thrown inside the water to die. They used canoe to look for him for almost 15mins before police came around .it was only God that saved him, had it been they met us at the secretariat, they might have killed somebody it was only that guy that was able to escape death, that is the situation we find ourselves on the issue of association”, he explained.
On his part, Ojo Peter Akintoye explained that he was never aware of the hoodlums who came to secretariat to take away the secretariat bus. He said, although the National Secretariat had written to Mojeed Akanni to vacate the office and handover the association documents to him, he however denied sending the hoodlums to attack the chapter secretariat.
He also alleged that last week Monday attack was an attempt to take his life, alleging that this will be the fourth attack on his person since coming to office
According to him, “concerning the issue of me leading hoodlums to the secretariat, a week ago before the incident, the National President of ANLCA wrote a letter to Mojeed copying the Commissioner of Police, Area commander, and DPO of TinCan for Mojeed to submit the association’s property with him to the national secretariat or to the duly elected officer; Ojo Peter Akintoye and he was given 48 hours to do that. So when the 48 hours elapsed, the National secretariat found their means of getting the bus to the national secretariat. The bus was taken from the front of Tin Can secretariat to the National Secretariat. That can be confirmed and verified also”.
On his part, the National Secretary of the ANLCA, Babatunde Mukaila, confirmed that a letter was sent to Mojeed Akanni, the factional Chairman of Tin Can chapter, he however denied engaging hoodlums to retrieve the property.
He said, “truly a letter was sent to Mojeed, after a while; he refused to comply; he kept on parading himself even after a proper introduction was made to the Comptroller of the Customs at Tin-Can. He was sent to vacate the office and return all ANLCA properties within his disposal.
“Indeed, we received a call that the association bus has been brought to the secretariat, to me it was part of the compliance to the letter he has received from NECOM.
“The truth is that, a bus was brought after he had received a letter to return the properties that are with him. The bus was simply sent down in compliance with the directive of the President, he said.
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