In an invitation letter signed by the head of operations,
Office of the Special Investigator, DCP Eloho Okpoziakpo, those summoned are
the chairman of Tropical General Investments Group, Cornelius Vink, managing
director of the group, Rahul Savara, and the chairman ofTitan Trust Bank (TTB),
Babatunde Lemo.
In the letter, Okpoziakpo said that the Investigative Panel
extended another invitation to the three men to counter TTB’s allegation that
they were not given fair hearing.
He also told them that if they failed to honour the
invitation, “it will be construed that they have decided to forfeit their
purported shareholdings in TTB and Union Bank of Nigeria, irrespective of which
vehicle they are using to own the purported shares.”
Lemo had, in a press release issued on December 24, in
reaction to the allegations contained in a report submitted to President Tinubu
by the Jim Obazee panel, claimed that the bank had fully cooperated with the
panel and that all the information requested was presented on September 1,
2023.
But Okpoziakpo noted in the letter that the defence put up
by Lemo is not only offensive but also contrary to the statements he and other
persons connected with the transactions made under caution before the panel.
The letter reads in part: “Please refer to your discussion
with the Special Investigator earlier today regarding the offensive defence
that your good self issued in Punch newspapers, on behalf of TTB, which you
chair, as well as the email you sent to the Special Investigator today wherein
you tried to provide clarification on your reaction to the report on TTB.
“In the newspapers, you referred to Cornelius Vink and Rahul
Savara as “prominent global entrepreneurs and having thriving businesses in
Nigeria…”
“In your email and earlier discussion with the Special
Investigator, you suggested that both of them be invited to clarify their share
ownership and given seven days to make such clarification, failure which they
will forfeit their shares to the Federal Government of Nigeria.
“We are surprised at your request about these two
shareholders. They were given this opportunity via a letter to them dated 28th
August, 2023 (copy attached as Appendix 1).
“Instead of honouring the invitation and providing the
requested documents, we received a letter from the company secretary of Union.
Bank, Somuyiwa Sonubi, dated 1st September, 2023, informing
the Special Investigator that Mr Cornelius Vink was out of the country on
medical grounds and that both “Messrs Vink and Savara will be available for the
meeting as soon as they are in Nigeria, which will be soon” (copy attached as
Appendix 2).
“Until this offensive defence that you put in the public
domain, the Special Investigator has neither heard from them nor received the
requested documents.
“Accordingly, you are here invited to come along with Messrs
Cornelius Vink and Mr Rahul Savara to meet with the Team of Special
Investigators by 2pm on 28th December, 2023 at the
Department of Force Intelligence (DFI), opposite Nigeria Police Force
Head-quarters Shehu Shagari Way Area 11, Garki Abuja, without fail or excuse.”