By Efe Onodjae
Lagos-based freight forwarder, Fawole Aremu, has said no prominent person in a position of authority was involved in a business deal between him and an associate to finance the clearance of containers.
Aremu spoke while responding to allegations by human rights activist Martins Vincent Otse, popularly known as Verydarkman, that he fraudulently obtained money from a business partner in a lucrative transaction.
He maintained that the dispute was purely contractual and should be treated as a civil matter, insisting that no serving or retired officer was named in the agreement.
Speaking at a briefing, Aremu said the agreement covered 10 containers, not eight as previously reported, out of 24 containers at the terminal.
According to him, the deal was valued at N200 million, out of which his partner paid N96 million but failed to fulfil the full financial obligation.
He said there was no fixed deadline for completing the clearance process, although both parties had discussed a possible period of two to three months.
Aremu said he was surprised when he was informed, three days after their agreement, that his partner was no longer interested in the transaction.
He added that he had refunded N30 million out of the money received, alleging that the detail was omitted from publications concerning the dispute.
On claims that the containers did not exist, Aremu insisted that they were at the terminal and that the clearance process was ongoing.