A popular businessman in Ogun state, lbrahim Dende Egungbohun has petitioned the Inspector General of Police, Kayode Egbetokun, the National Broadcasting Commission (NBC) and Arise TV over an alleged report by Foundation For Investigative Journalism (FIJ) in which he was accused of conniving with the Nigeria Customs to smuggle contraband items into the country.
In the petition sighted by our correspondent in Abeokuta, Egungbohun, popularly known as IBD Dende denied the allegations, insisting that he is a customs licensed freight agent with legitimate businesses cutting across hospitality, agriculture, quarry and transportation.
The petition which was signed by his lawyers, urged the IGP to investigate the allegations against him and other security agents, saying that the report was maliciously targeted at destroying his image.
The petition reads, “The publications and the documentary fabricated by Fisayo Soyombo in relation to our client, are false in their entirety and they excessively breached the decent fundamentals of public enlightenment which the freedom of press is constitutionally about.
“It is therefore our clients position that the totality of the documentary where our client’s name is criminally featured and the followed-up publications amount to nothing, but character assassination with calculated view to achieve damaging effects against our client in his businesses within and outside Nigeria.
“It is also the position of our client that these orchestrated allegations are designed for the purpose of causing inconvenience, danger, criminal intimidation, enemity, hatred and needles anxiety to our client contrary to section 24 of the cybercrimes (prohibition, prevention) Act, 2015.
“In the light of foregoing, we hereby request your office to cause the publications to be investigated with utmost urgency and seriousness, as they have implication not for the person of our client only but for the security architecture of our dear country.”
Egungbohun also faulted Arise television for broadcasting the documentary without establishing the veracity of the report, while calling on the National Broadcasting Commission (NBC) to invoke necessary sanctions on the station for breaching ethical codes of broadcasting.
