Petition against revenue agency boss: Police investigate 2 for letter head forgery in Nigeria

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The Police Command in Niger, has invited two suspects, Danjuma Ibeto and Garba Abdullahi, for investigation into an alleged letter head forgery.

Ibeto and Abdullahi had allegedly forged the letter head of a law firm, Nuhu Edah & Co. Success Chambers, for a petition against, Mr Mohammed Etsu, the Chairman of Niger state Board of Internal Revenue Service (NGIRS).

The Police Public Relations Officer, DSP Wasiu Abiodun, confirmed this to NAN in Minna on Thursday, saying that the command received an official complaint of the suspected forgery.

Abiodun said that the two suspects were invited for interrogation, adding that during interrogation, the suspects mentioned other names also involved in the act.

He said that investigation was ongoing by the State Criminal Investigation Department (SCID), and further development on the case would be made public.

According to reports, Idris Abdullahi and Co. (Legal Practitioner Corporate and Property Consultants, counsel to Barrister Nuhu Edah & Co. Success Chambers, had petitioned the Niger state Commissioner of Police over a case of forgery.

The letter was titled “A Petition Against Danjuma Jaye Ibeto with Phone number 070379446370 and Garba Abdullahi with number 08080605531.

The firm alleged that the suspects forged its letter head to write a petition against the Chairman of NGIRS to Gov. Abubakar Sani-Bello, titled; “The Brazen Abuse and Unethical Behaviour of Mohammed Madami Etsu, Executive Chairman of NGIRS.

According to the petition, Nuhu Edah & Co. Success Chambers knows nothing about such a petition with its letter head to the governor, neither was it aware of the allegations contained in the said petition.

“Our client has never met him in person, our client came to discover that his letter head with his name was forged, and surreptitiously used for the said petition against the Chairman of NGIRS without his knowledge and consent.

“Our client has written series of letters and disclaimers to deny, and dissociate himself from the said petition, since he discovered that his letter head and name were forged and his seal stolen without his knowledge and consent,” the letter said.

Meanwhile Etsu, through his counsel, Mohammed Ndayako (SAN), of Bastion Chambers, has filed a motion before a Minna High Court, demanding N100,000 million against a national daily, as damages for libelous and mendacious publication of falsehood against him.

The daily had written a story based on the said petition on the alleged forged letter against some alleged activities of Etsu as the head of the Niger state revenue agency on Nov. 5.

The court motion also contained an order directing the national daily to pay the chairman N50 million, being exemplary damages for libelous and mendacious publication. (NAN)