How I was abducted by policemen from Abuja, by Godmother to Bank Anthony’s children

A 67-year-old woman, Queen Irene Cole who said she is the Godmother and Attorney of the beneficiaries of the massive wealth of renowned late philanthropist, Sir Mobolaji Bank Anthony, has narrated how she was abducted inside a police station in Lagos by a team of policemen who claimed they came from Force Headquarters, Abuja.

The policemen claimed they were acting on the instructions of the Inspector-General of Police, Mohammed Abubakar.

The woman, a retired Naval officer in the United States of America, USA, and mother of one of the children of the late philanthropist said her abduction was at the State Criminal Investigations and Intelligence Department, (SCIID)Panti, Yaba, when she went to visit detectives investigating a petition she wrote on the diversion of dividends and seeking protection for the beneficiaries of the Will of Late Bank Anthony.

In the petition signed by their lawyer, kayoed Fasetire Esq and addressed to the IGP, the beneficiaries alleged that after the death of the philanthropist, his vast estates were literally hijacked by his appointed Trustees to whom his will expressly and in detail emphasized his provisions for his beneficiaries but the trustees have not complied.

They further alleged amongst other things that in total breach of trust, the three Trustees conspired to deprive the beneficiaries of his provisions for them by not assembling all named beneficiaries in order to read the will to them and inform them of their benefits and compounded matters by sidelining the family completely.

Madam Irene alleged that while she was at Panti, the policemen who claimed to be acting on the instructions of the IGP, abducted and manhandled her after which they took her around unknown places before moving to her residence where they ended up damaging her properties and arresting all her domestic staff before taking all of them to Lion building in Victoria Island for detention.

She continued: “I found myself in the most difficult situation when I was kidnapped from Panti police station where I was the petitioner and the culprits were about to be arrested. I was warned never to go near my house again and almost assassinated by a very violent policeman who not only kept slapping my personal assistant but traumatized the entire members of the family in our residence at Number 29, Okotie Ebo Close, Ikoyi, Lagos.

“One of the officers claimed that as a policeman, he would shoot my Personal Assistant in my presence and nothing would happen. I sensed that they could never be from the IGP. They were policemen on an illegal mission. I showed them the approved I. G.’s letter which we had but they seized it. ‘ ‘’They didn’t know divine revelation came when my daughter, Funmiade Bank-Anthony, the Yoruba Actor and producer announced to the world in one of her News articles that she indeed is the granddaughter of the Late Sir Bank-Anthony, but she is still a struggling actor, because none of the 48 properties had been willed to her or her siblings. She actually believed that her father ‘’The Fountain Pen King” which was a name he was well known for in those days, had left nothing for his family.

‘’Not only had the Late Sir Mobolaji Bank Anthony provided for his family for generations to come but he had made provisions for Nigerians in the most passionate way. He also had provided for universities, cancer research centres, motherless babies homes, for the blind, other research centres etc. He provided for scholarships to send our children to England, America and whosoever have a brilliant mind must be accommodated for the next even ten generations to come.

‘’We are appealing to both the Inspector General of Police, Nigerians and the court of public opinion to please save our lives. I challenge the so-called trustees to show the world from probate of what gives them the legal right to be executors. And why does the money of an estate keep going into their personal bank account? We have a certified true copy from probate. They should also let us know why they are selling properties that don’t belong to them.’’

Lagos State police spokesman, Bala Elkana said he would investigate the case and get back to the press.