Ogun hotelier writes IG over smuggling, gunrunning allegations

An Ogun State-based hotelier, Ibrahim Dende Egungbogun, has written a petition to the Inspec-tor General of Police (IGP), Kayode Egbetokun, over allegations of smuggling and gunrunning against him.

The founder of the Foundation for Investigative Journalism (FIJ), Fisayo Soyombo, in an investi-gative report headlined: “Undercover as a smuggler”, reported that the hotelier, popularly known as IBD Dende, was involved in smuggling.

Soyombo’s investigation also revealed that men of the Nigeria Customs Service (NCS) were conniving with smugglers of rice, poultry products and guns into Nigeria.

The report also accused the customs of killing “petty thieves” and leaving the likes of IBD Dende, who the reporter described as “Ilaro’s biggest smuggler”, to walk freely.

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But Egungbohun in the petition addressed to the IGP, deemed the report as defaming his per-sonality and demanded an investigation by the police.

In the letter made available to newsmen in Abeokuta, Ogun State, on Monday, the businessmen described the report as malicious and targeted at destroying his image.

The letter was written by his legal counsel, Law Fix Chambers, and signed by D O Folalu, a prin-cipal counsel at the chamber.

Our correspondent reports that two separate letters were also written to Arise Television and the National Broadcasting Commission (NBC) over the airing of the report.

Egungbohun explained that contrary to the report, he was a customs-licensed freight agent with legitimate businesses cutting across hospitality, agriculture, quarry and transportation.

The letter to the IGP reads in part: “It is also the position of our client that these orchestrated al-legations are designed for the purpose of causing inconvenience, danger, criminal intimidation, enmity, hatred and needles anxiety to our client contrary to Section 24 of the Cybercrime (Prohi-bition, Prevention) Act, 2015.

“In the light of the foregoing, we hereby request your office to cause the publications to be inves-tigated with utmost urgency and seriousness as they have implications not only on the person of our client, but for the security architecture of our dear country.”