A 55-year-old businessman, Williams Raymond, has denied assaulting a lawyer, Ajiki John Boluwaji, or illegally detaining one of his employees, Lekan Adewole, over the disappearance of his 17-year-old son, Adam, who has been missing for nearly two weeks.

The Nigerian Bar Association (NBA), Gwagwalada Branch, had alleged in an online report that Raymond sponsored an attack on Boluwaji when the lawyer went to serve a demand letter related to the alleged unlawful detention of his client, Adewole.

The incident allegedly occurred on Tuesday, June 17, 2025, between 12:00 p.m. and 3:00 p.m. at Gudu Market Junction in the Abuja Municipal Area Council. According to the NBA’s account, Boluwaji was manhandled, forcibly detained, and had his phone seized by the assailants during the encounter.

“The attackers seized Boluwaji’s phone and denied him any opportunity to call for help,” the branch secretary, John Oluwasina Adewakun, said in a public statement.

However, in a chat with journalists, Raymond refuted the claims, insisting that it was Boluwaji who caused a scene at his office at Apo Market Junction in Abuja. He said the lawyer insulted him after he refused to immediately sign the letter, insisting that his own lawyer should first review it.

“He was not looking like a lawyer. In fact, he wore slippers,” Raymond said. “He assaulted a shop owner, Itoro Dominic Robert, who came to calm the situation.”

Raymond also denied that Boluwaji’s phone was seized or that he was prevented from making calls.

He added, “The letter claimed I should pay N100,000 to the lawyer as his fee and another N100,000 to the boy for shoes he allegedly misplaced. I said these claims were false and told him I would wait for my lawyer’s advice. That’s when he became unruly and started calling me unprintable names.”

According to Raymond, the situation escalated outside his office when curious neighbours gathered after hearing the exchange. He explained that his missing son had been left in the care of Adewole and others who were subsequently taken in for police questioning, not on his orders but by police discretion.

“The police said my son still had contact with Adewole. My son is 17 years old and has never slept outside the house before. He went missing after the Sallah celebration,” he explained.

Raymond also claimed that the person who allegedly assaulted the lawyer was a passerby who has since been detained by police. “I don’t even know his name. I don’t understand why the lawyer is trying to implicate me,” he said.