How EFCC Officials Wrongfully Included A Businessman’s Property to Defendant’s List of Assets for Forfeiture to Federal Government
By Ovie Edomi
The fate of Chief Benson Majemite, a Political Scientist and businessman from Ughelli but based in Asaba, Delta State capital, still hangs in the balance as the Economic and Financial Crimes Commission, EFCC continues to treat his case with disdain.
Benson Majemite, a relation of Barrister Fred Majemite, two time Commissioner and former governorship aspirant narrated his ordeal to this Reporter almost in tears. His ordeal started after he used his company’s name: Bemido Global Services to invested N10.8m in DW Areben Global Investment Limited, a company owned by David Wealth Ezuzu. Over a period of time, the investment grew up to N45m.When Benson Majemite wanted his return on the investment, DW Areben Global Investment Limited could not pay as a result David Wealth Ezulu entered into an agreement with Chief Benson Majemite for Benson Majemite to buy one of his properties located at plot 27 Umuji, Umuzeafada family land, Okosi 1 area along Asaba-Benin road, in Oshimili local government area of Delta State.
The land in question measure 1,3116.936 square meters was sold to Benson Majemite with a deed of conveyance and survey plan number 2545/DT/847/2020. After the purchase, Majemite did a fresh survey of the land using Chief Surv. Aboh Goddy Williams, a registered surveyor. The survey with plan number 2420/DT/6860/2021 was lodged with the Ministry of Land, Survey and Urban Development, Asaba.
Assured that he has taken possession of the property, Majemite went ahead to put tenants on the property which includes: mechanics, panel beaters and so on. He then made one Kenneth the caretaker of the property.
On December 22, 2021, Chief Benson Majemite got a call from the Caretaker in charge of the property where he was informed that some unknown persons came to the property, did inspection and took pictures of the property and when the people were accosted, they said the property was under EFCC investigation.
While narrating his ordeal, Majemite noted that the officials who came to the land, did not leave any contact to show that they were actually from EFCC so when his caretaker informed him, he took the people for land grabbers.
His immediate reaction, was to put a notice on the wall of the property on December 27th 2021.The notice read: “This land belongs to Bemido Global Services Company, transpassers beware”. He then put his telephone number underneath believing that if it was truly EFCC officials that came to the site they will contact him with the phone number he left on the wall of the property. Unfortunately, nobody called him nor did he get any invitation from any authority/agency of government.
Rather, on 25th February, 2022 some men in plain clothes visited the site again. This time, they crossed the notice he wrote on the wall of the property and wrote : “EFCC under investigation ” No file number was written.
Chief Benson Majemite, knowing that he has no case with the EFCC neither has he been invited, decided to publish on page 15, of the Vanguard newspaper of February 28,2022 a caveat. Thereafter, he did a letter to the EFCC office in Benin city asserting his ownership of the property. The letter was acknowledged by the EFCC on 8th March, 2022.
Even after he dropped the letter, there was no call or invitation letter from the EFCC rather he got to discover much later that his property was among the property listed in a plea bargain agreement between the federal government represented by the EFCC and David Wealth Ezuzu in suit No. B/CD/EFCC/107/22.The judgement was delivered on July 5, 2022.
Upon this discovery, Majemite went to the Benin office of the EFCC to see the Zonal Commander to prove his title to the property that was wrongfully included in the plea bargain agreement, and gave the Zonal Commander his title documents for scrutiny.
Curiously, the Zonal Commander called the Legal Officer of the Zonal Command, Mr Francis Jibo to advice in the circumstance of the matter. It was at that point that Jibo admitted that the property was wrongfully listed in the plea bargain agreement. Majemite was then told to file application in the Court that delived the judgement asking for the said property belonging to Benson Majemite to be delisted from the plea bargain agreement and that they (EFCC will not oppose the application.
It was an excited Majemite that left the EFCC Zonal command that day, but unknown to him, his wooes and the beginning of a long legal battle have just began. The end of it, is yet to be seen.
Like every responsible citizen would do, Majemite, through his solicitor, wrote to the Court requesting that the exhibit marked as JAC 1 in the plea bargain agreement, be delisted in a letter dated 21st September 2022. He further stated in the application that neither him nor a representative of the company was invited by the 1st Respondent( EFCC) neither was he given fair hearing before the plea bargain agreement and the judgement were later entered into. A development he claimed seemly divest him of his lawful property. Hence in the application dated 17th October, 2022, he filled at the Court, through his Solicitor, requested the Court to delist the property from the plea bargain. Expectedly, the Court filed the application for hearing.
It was a surprised Majemite that saw the 1st defendant (EFCC) serve his solicitor, a counter affidavit on 29th November 2022 dated 28th November, 2022 countering the delisting of the Benson Majemite’s company property. The counter affidavit was deposed by one Charity Ojuwa Chukwu, a detective and member of the team who claimed to have investigated the matter.
At this point, it was a more devastated Majemite who decided to petitioned the Chairman of the Economic and Financial Crimes Commission, EFCC because according to him, ” I could no longer swallow the lies coming from the Officer who deposed to the affidavit. Thus in a letter titled: Complaint of Serious Misconduct Against Charity Chukwu of Edo state Zonal Command” Majemite narrated all that has happened. Based on the petition to the EFCC chairman, the matter was assigned to the department of internal affairs, DIA to treat.
Consequently, the DIA head scheduled a fact finding meeting for 19th June 2023 and invited Benson Majemite, David Wealth Ezuzu, 2nd Respondent, Charity Ojuwa Chukwu, 1st Respondent Officer and Barrister Francis Jibo, Respondent Legal Officer. Majemite and his Solicitor attended the meeting but the 2nd Respondent, David Wealth Ezuzu, did not attend the meeting which was under the supervision of the second Officer in the department of DIA from the head office, Abuja. At the meeting, it was established that none of the issues raised in the petition of Majemite to the EFCC chairman were wrong, contradicted, controverted nor proven to be false.
However, it was the same Barrister Francis Jibo, 1st Respondent Legal Officer, who incidentally advised the Benin Zonal Commander to tell Majemite to file an application in Court for delisting of the property, saying that the 1st Respondent, (EFCC) will not oppose the application in Court, was the one who told the same Court that Majemite has been on the run when the Court heard the application.
Corroborating Jibo, the 1st Respondent officer, Charity Chukwu in her affidavit told the court that she investigated the matter that gave rise to the plea bargain agreement and the subsequent judgement.
Unable to bear what he heard and disturbed by the content of the affidavit, Majemite told this Editor that he could not bear the misrepresentation of facts to defeat the justice of the matter as a result, he wrote a petition the chairman of the EFCC.
Till date everything seemed confusing to Majemite especially because the same legal officer who advised him to file the application, was the same person who represented the EFCC, 1st Respondent, in court and even said in the open that Majemite was on the run. Though, Majemite countered the legal officer, who later apologised to Majemite after the court proceeding that he didn’t not know that it was the same case, Majemite presented in their office.
Unfortunately, when the Court heard the application, it dismissed Majemite’s application on the ground that it sat as a criminal Court, as such, it can not treat issue of ownership of property and it is functus-officio. What that means is that the court no longer had the power to modify the order it earlier made.
Though, Majemite wrote to the EFCC seeking for the intervention of the agency on October 23, 2024, officials of the EFCC still went to the property and wrote on the wall: RETRAIN ORDER, EFCC KEEP OFF. The EFCC officials equally asked the tenants on the property to stop paying rents to Chief Benson Majemite and instructed the tenants to deal with EFCC as their new landlord.
While the petition Majemite wrote to the Chairman of the EFCC is still being treated and the outcome of the fact finding Committee was being awaited, as if someone was in a hurry to acquire the property, it was listed for auction. But for the protest of Majemite to the Department of Internal Affairs, that drew management’s attention to the circumstance of the case, and the auction was suspended. Even then insiders say inspite of the findings of the Department of Internal Affairs, nothing much has been done except the alleged demotion of the lady who claimed to have investigated the matter.
Majemite who has ran to the Public Complaint Commission, Human Rights groups and preparing to go to the National Assembly as at the time of this report, told this Editor that he is losing trust and faith in his fatherland. According to him, “l have right to fair hearing as a citizen of this country but l have not been given any fair hearing on this matter”.
His Lawyer, Barrister Marvel appears more devastated. According to him, “If we accept the intrinsic worth of every human being, then justice becomes the minimum debt, we owe to him, for if we deny him, we have declared him worthless. Furthermore, he noted justice is an integral whole, which does not admit of partition, as such failure at anyone is absolute injustice. We owe the state social justice and the state owes the citizens distributive justice and in this case, unless the state intervenes through the Attorney General of Justice the client, Chief Majemite is in pain and absolutely in bad shape”.
When this magazine sent questions to the head of EFCC’s head of media and publicity, Dele Oyewale, mum was the word as at the time of going to Press.
How the EFCC under the current Executive Chairman, Mr. Ola Olukoyede, who has brought several reforms to the EFCC and won several accolades for his initiatives, will handle this case of trying to shave a man’s head in his absence remains to be seen. Indeed, justice must be seen served in this matter. The citizens are watching.