A Nigerian businessman, Babafemi Oladipo Fagite, has demanded that the Nigeria Police Force (NPF) immediately withdraw a police gazette declaring him and two associates wanted, describing the publication as false, defamatory, and a flagrant contempt of court.
Through his legal counsel, J.S. Agada and Co., Fagite, alongside Raymond Oluseyi Akintayo and Charles Uche Obisike, also called on the police to issue a public correction and an unreserved apology.
They warned that failure to do so would result in a N10 billion lawsuit against the Force, the Inspector-General of Police (IGP), and all officers involved.
The three, who are directors of Cabota Energy Services Limited, were declared wanted in a recent police bulletin for alleged offences including conspiracy, terrorism, kidnapping, attempted assassination, and criminal conversion of three gas-powered generating plants valued at over N3 billion.
But in a pre-action notice addressed to the IGP and copied to the Police Service Commission (PSC), the businessmen described the publication as false, malicious, and misleading, insisting that the underlying matter is a commercial dispute over a lease agreement between two companies, not a criminal case.
Their counsel explained that multiple suits relating to the dispute are already pending before the Federal High Courts in Lagos and Abuja, as well as the High Court of Kogi State, all of which have issued preservative orders directing parties to maintain the status quo pending the determination of the substantive matters.
“It is deeply regrettable that, despite pending litigations and subsisting court orders, certain individuals with ulterior motives have misled sections of the Nigeria Police Force into publishing such an injurious declaration,” the notice read.
Fagite and his associates said the false publication had subjected them to public ridicule, reputational harm, business disruptions, and emotional distress both locally and internationally.
In a separate petition to the PSC, the businessmen accused the Commissioner of Police in charge of the IGP Monitoring Unit, CP Akin Fakorede, of abuse of office, gross misconduct, and contempt of court for authorising the defamatory publication.
They urged the Commission to investigate the officers involved, discipline those found culpable, and issue clear directives to prevent future misuse of police gazettes in cases already before competent courts.
“The reckless declaration of Nigerian citizens as wanted persons on spurious and false allegations undermines public confidence in the police and erodes the credibility of the Force,” the petition stated.
