Crime and Court News

Furore over missing N50m bullet proof Nissan Maxima car

2 unemployed men docked for constituting nuisance

…Lagos CJ sets up an Investigation committee to recover the car

Where is a Nissan Maxima (3.5SE) N50 million bulletproof car marked BQ 775 AGL recovered from a judgment debtor? Who took delivery from the warehouse where impounded vehicles are kept by the High Court of Lagos State?

These are the mysteries that a committee set up by the Lagos Chief Judge, Justice Kazeem Alogba, would have to resolve soonest.

The car marked BQ 775 AGL was recovered from a judgment debtor in suit no. MIK/22/19/11, between Lati Gomes, the claimant and Princess Bola Jegede, the respondent.

Justice Alogba, while setting up the committee, charged it to unravel the miseries surrounding how the Nissan Maxima (3.5SE) with registration No BQ 775 AGL retrieved from the judgment debtor got missing and those involved in the scam.

The committee was set up following petitions written by Princess Bola Jegede, the Proprietress of A-Z International College through her counsel, Yemi Omodele.

It was gathered that a former Head of Deputy Sheriff Section, Lagos, Mrs Julie Abieyuwa Anabor, who is now a judge at the Code of Conduct Tribunal had on March 28, 2013, executed the judgment against the judgement debtor pursuant to judgment delivered on June 28, 2012.

While executing the judgement, Justice Anabor had impounded two Toyota Hummer school buses and the bulletproof Nissan Maxima (3.5SE) with registration No BQ 775 AGL from the judgment debtor, Princess Jegede.

The proprietress in a series of petitions written to the CJ, Justice Alogba, stated that the parties had since settled their differences.

She stressed the fact that the judgment creditor and debtor have reached compromise on their positions.

The Judgment debtor had then asked the Deputy Registrar to release the properties as stated in “the attached copy of inventory” and release the same to the rightful owner in compliance with the order of the court.

The Chief Magistrate F. A. Azeez had in a suit delivered judgement over the rent of property between the trustees of the estate of honourable Justice T.S Gomes and Princess Bola Jegede wherein the court ordered the defendant to pay the sum of N9 million as arrears of rent from January 2005 to 2008 and January 2009 to 2010.

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The failure of the defendant to liquidate the debt thereafter led to the execution of the Judgment before parties were able to settle the rift.

However, following the directive of the former Deputy Sheriff, Mrs Julie Abieyuwa Anabor, only two school buses with registration no UF 129 KJA and UF 128 KJA were released to the judgment debtor, remaining the Nissan Maxima (3.5SE) with registration no BQ775 AGL.

The School Proprietress, through his lawyer, Yemi Omodele in a letter dated October 14, 2020, to the Deputy Sheriff, had requested for the release of the remaining one vehicle, the Nissan Maxima car in the interest of justice and as the last hope of common man.

However, an investigation revealed that Justice Julie Anabor, in her capacity as the Head of Deputy Sheriff, authorized the release of the bulletproof vehicle from the Strabag warehouse, Ikeja along with other seized vehicles.

However, the Nissan Maxima never got back to the real owner, Princess Jegede after liquidating all debt.

Sources said an investigation is ongoing and startling revelations are being made on assets of judgment debtors.

The Panel of enquiry set up by the Chief Judge, Justice Alogba is yet to conclude its findings on the matter.