Nnewi billionaire businessman Chief Cletus Ibeto was today arraigned in Lagos high court for the offence of defrauding Sir Daniel Chukwudozie of Dozzy
Nnewi billionaire businessman Chief Cletus Ibeto was today arraigned in Lagos high court for the offence of defrauding Sir Daniel Chukwudozie of Dozzy Oil, the sum of N4.8 billion in 2017.
Chief Cletus Ibeto was not in court, so the matter could not proceed, and so the court had to adjourn the matter until November 3.
What are the facts of the case, and why is Dozzy Oil crying foul that he was defrauded by Ibeto?
In 2016, agents of Cletus Ibeto approached Sir Chukwudozie of Dozzy Oil to say that their client had land for sale in Port Harcourt.
The land in question was purported to be 22.6536 hectares of land, which he claimed to have at the end of Reclamation Road Layout, Port Harcourt, Rivers State, by a deed of sublease executed by Odoh Holdings and Ibeto Energy Development Ltd.
Unknown to Dozzy Oil, Ibeto only had 7.9 hectares of the said land, not 22 hectares as he was told.
To convince Dozzy Oil to drop the money, Ibeto’s agents allegedly had to go and forge a land document, a Deed of Sublease between Odoh Holdings Ltd. and Ibeto Development Ltd., purportedly registered as No. 47, Page 47, Vol. 280 of the Lands Registry, Rivers State, wherein they claimed that Odoh Holdings Ltd. acquired leasehold interest in respect of 22.6536.
The forged documents showed that Ibeto has title over 22 hectares of land and not 7.9 hectares.
The sum of N4.8 billion was transferred by Dozzy Oil to Ibeto in 2017, and that is when the drama started.
To his chagrin, Sir Chukwudozie of Dozzy Oil was disappointed to find out that he was defrauded after payment had been made. He was also disappointed to find out that Ibeto only had a title to 7.9 hectares and not 22 hectares, as he had been deceived.
And to compound the problem, the land of deeds presented to him, which convinced him to pay, was forged.
Since they are friends, Dozzy Oil approached Ibeto to understand why he treated him in such a callous manner.
The matter has lingered since that time.
They share many mutual friends together, so their friends who are also billionaires have tried to resolve the issue between two of Anambra’s finest billionaires, but the issue appears to be intractable as the two parties refused to back down.
The matter was escalated to the Economic and Financial Crimes Commission, EFCC, which has taken the matter to court since last year.
This is the third time that the matter has been announced in court. Since Ibeto is a big man, he refused to show up three times.
Dozzy Oil wants Ibero to refund him 2.5 billion naira from the 4.8 billion he paid in 2017 because 14.1 hectares of the land that was sold to him by Ibeto do not exist.
If convicted, the offence that Chief Cletus Ibeto committed carries a punishment of not less than 7 years and not more than 20 years imprisonment without the option of a fine.
