The Chairman of AA Oil Limited, Aliyu Abubakar, has denied that he shunned court summons or processes from the FCT High Court in Abuja.
He also said he is not a fraudulent businessman and asked the media to ignore attempts to tarnish his reputation.
Abubakar, who made the clarifications in a statement in Abuja, said the charges preferred against him by the Attorney-General of the Federation, Mr. Abubakar Malami, were prejudicial.
The AGF had on Wednesday through the Principal State Counsel filed some charges, bordering on trespass against the oil firm boss.
The charges preferred against Abubakar are: “That you, Aliyu Abubakar, on or about the month of January 2015 at Plot 105, Cadastral Zone, Aso Drive, Abuja, within the jurisdiction of this honourable court, committed an offence in that you forcefully entered Plot 105, Cadastral Zone, Aso Drive, property in lawful possession of Alhaji Lawal Abbah and forced out all occupants of the house including his security men and their families, you thereby committed the offence of criminal trespass punishable under section 352 of the Penal Code Law.”
But Abubakar in a statement said a case on a disputed property in Maitama District in Abuja was already pending at the Court of Appeal.
He said the Office of the AGF ought to have allowed the appellate court to determine the case before it instead of bowing to the appellant, Lawal Abba.
The statement said: “My attention has been drawn to a trending story that I shunned the FCT high Court presided by Justice M.E. Anenih on Wednesday. It was absolute rubbish to make such a frivolous claim which was aimed at impugning on my hard-earned reputation as an ethical and reliable businessman.
“I, Aliyu Abubakar, was not aware of any processes not to talk of avoiding the court on the said day. The filing of two-count charge against me was a judicial ambush which the erudite judge, Justice Anenih refused to buy into. The Prosecutor admitted before her Lordship that some processes were pasted on my residence on Tuesday but on Wednesday he asked the court to issue a warrant of arrest against me.
“The judge was also forthright in rejecting the application for the warrant of arrest by declaring it unfair. What the prosecutor sought to do was to have his cake and eat it.
“Following the mischief being dished out to undiscerning media, it has become imperative to make it clear that the Office of the Attorney-General of the Federation (OAGF) was being used to gag, intimidate, punish and imprison me for no just cause.”
Abubakar gave insights into his travails and plot to rubbish him.
The statement added: “The allegation of trespass against me has been subject of a petition to the Presidency and litigation in the past few years.
“The subject matter, which was re-presented to the FCT High Court as trespass on July1, 2016, is a civil dispute between Alh. Ibrahim Gusau and Inuwa Abdulkadir on one hand and Alh. Lawal Abba on the ownership of Plot 105 Cadastral Zone, Aso Drive. The case is pending before the Court of Appeal with Appeal No. CA/A/197/09.
“It is laughable to claim that I had trespassed on the plot which a High Court declared as not belonging to Alhaji Lawal Abba. Nigerians should ask Abba on what basis he petitioned the AGF, Mr. Abubakar Malami.
“In the charges by OAGF, I was accused of allegedly trespassing on a plot of land that I bought legally with N500million and covered by Certificate of Occupancy Number FC/ ABU/ SO. 487 of December 14, 1983 and brokered by a former National Security Adviser (NSA) for the family.
“The fact that Lawal Abba obtained a stay of execution order is no licence for him to frustrate and hound me.
“Besides, the Nigeria Police Force investigated Abba’s claim in the past few years and discovered that he misled the police. He was even recommended for prosecution. It is incomprehensible that the OAGF could not dust up the police report and the judgment of a FCT High Court to get an informed position on this matter.
“I am appealing to Nigerians to disregard the charges against me. I am not a fraudulent person, I will never be fraudulent, I have no cause to be dubious. I have always worked hard to earn my living. I am not a land speculator. I conduct all my activities within the ambit of the law and in deference to due process.”
