* Wife, Union Call For Probe BY SONNY ARAGBA-AKPORE, EMMA EKE AND SUNDAY ORISAKWE
FRESH indications emerged yesterday that the police might have fatally wounded Mobitel Chief Executive Officer, Chief Charles Alaba Joseph, contrary to claims that he plunged to his death.
A police source told The Guardian yesterday that one of the members of the police team that went to ensure a successful takeover of the telecommunications company by the receiver/manager may have ordered the shooting to demobilise him.
The Lagos Police Command spokesman, Mr. Bode Ojajuni, however, spiritedly refuted the report, wondering where such indications originated.
The development came as the wife of the late chief executive, Shade, rose in staunch defence of her husband, dismissing claims that Joseph jumped to his death as "ludicrous".
Mrs. Joseph declared in a statement."This cruel characterisation of my husband cannot go unchallenged and I am therefore compelled to use this medium to try to put a stop to what appears to be a calculated attempt to manipulate the media... My husband, Charles Alaba Joseph did not kill himself."
Similarly, the chairman of the company, Major-General Tanko Ayuba had, in at press briefing yesterday, confirmed that Joseph was murdered in mysterious circumstances.
He maintained that in a letter to the Board of Directors dated September 1, Joseph had tendered his resignation to pave way for the take-over of the firm by the receiver/manager .
"We have had several dialogues with all parties concerned on the best approach to go about the take over plan, which was to be given final approval by the Board on Thursday (September 15) by 2 p.m. only to hear of the unfortunate incident of his death," Ayuba said.
The retired general added that the company is eagerly awaiting the autopsy report to know what next line of action to take.
The police source told The Guardian that Joseph attempted to leave the premises through the car park when an official of the debt recovery department of the bank spotted him and ordered one of the policemen to shoot to stop him from escaping.
Unconfirmed reports said that having discovered that the man was dead, the police allegedly moved him to the balcony, dumped him and fled the scene.
According to the source, the bank official who ordered the shooting is now cooling his feet in police cell, adding that those involved in the incident may be attempting to influence the autopsy report.
But Ojajuni, a Deputy Superintendent of Police (DSP), who said the police had nothing to do with the death queried: "How can the police kill somebody they had no contact with.
"It is only The Guardian that is trying to involve the police in this matter. Go to the place of the incident and ask the witnesses there if they saw the police shoot the man. If the police was shooting, there would have been sound. You people can also investigate the matter and see if the police are involved or not(involved) in the man's death".
Excerpts of Mrs. Joseph's statement yesterday read: "It is barely 24 hours since my husband was killed and I have been shaken out of what should naturally be a period of mourning.
"During yesterday evening, I learned that media reporting had severally claimed that my husband killed himself on account of the financial troubles that his company was facing. This cruel characterization of my husband cannot go unchallenged and I am therefore compelled to use this medium to try and put a stop to what appears to be a calculated attempt to manipulate the media.
"I beg all of you present, you noble soldiers of the truth, to stop this incorrect reporting of the circumstances of my husband's death. Do this for us to honour the name and integrity of my dear husband Alaba; to protect the dignity of our beloved children; and to ensure that those responsible do not manipulate the media so as to go unpunished.
"My husband, Charles Alaba Joseph, did not kill himself. My husband was a decent man, a caring and responsible father, a sensitive but tough, determined, ambitious, surefooted, generous, kind, thoughtful, protective and decent man.
"He would never bring the shame of a callous and cowardly suicide upon his family. My husband loved his children deeply. He was devoted to them. He cared deeply about their welfare and would do anything to protect them. He certainly would never do anything to ridicule us or bring our names and character into question or dispute.
"Though I am tempted to speak of my findings in the course of yesterday, I shall restrain myself and leave the autopsy report to disclose the facts. I nevertheless feel compelled to say the following.
"My husband left home at about 8.45 a.m. yesterday (Thursday), after having breakfast. He was in good spirits and expected to be back home with his family later in the day. In the course of the morning, my husband and I exchanged text messages of a personal nature.
"He was clear-headed and in charge of his home. Other than the troubles with Mobitel, which he informed me was being taken over by a receiver/manger in the same morning, my husband had no particular concerns. He was not one to overly worry. He simply worked to find solutions to problems.
"The idea that he killed himself over Mobitel's debt is ludicrous. He was working hard to reschedule the company's debt and had reached an advanced stage of negotiations with the bank. The fact that the bank chose to appoint a receiver/manager did not surprise him much. What he had not anticipated and could not have anticipated was the speed and ferocity with which Kemi Pinheiro, the receiver/manger sought to take physical control of a company that he did not build.
"Finally, my personal and painful inspection of my husband at the mortuary at the Ikeja General Hospital told a million stories. It revealed the fatal assault that terminated this beautiful life. But I shall let the autopsy report reveal the facts.
"Needless to say that my cursory investigations left me with a clear picture of how my beloved husband met his death, and I can tell you that he neither had the will nor the capability to inflict the fatal wound that almost certainly cost him his life.
"You may wish to consider the following facts that surrounded the death of my husband- At about 10 in the morning, Kemi Pinheiro, the aforementioned receiver/manager arrived the premises of the company, accompanied by over a dozen heavily-armed policemen and several other plain clothed security personnel.
"These heavily-armed men immediately seized control of the entire ICON House building, sealing gates and cordoning sections.
"Once on the first floor offices of Mobitel, the men apparently forced the entire personnel of the company into the conference room, holding them hostage, while they proceeded to do what we might never know to my husband, who was singled out and left undefended.
Also reacting yesterday, the Association of Telecoms Companies of Nigeria (ATCON), of which Joseph was president, called for a judiciary inquiry.
The association urged "everybody involved to hold their opinions until the investigations are complete. We are certain that you will all be interested to learn how a hole resembling a bullet wound showed up on his head, and why Kemi Pinheiro and the police fled the scene and left a wounded man to die in a pool of his own blood.
"We, the National Executive Committee of the Association of Telecommunication Companies of Nigeria plead with all our media and pressmen to exercise caution and circumstance on this issue and to await the outcome of the police and medical examinations, which we believe will disprove the allegation that Charles Alaba Joseph took his life.
It also urged the government, particularly President Olusegun Obasanjo and the Minister of Communications, Chief Cornelius Adebayo to use their good offices to bring about a swift investigation of the circumstances of the death.
The Police handling of the recent killing of Mr. Charles Alaba Joseph, the President and Chief Executive Officer of Mobitel Limited, a Lagos-based telecommunications firm, is a sad recall of the way the probe of the killing of “the Apo Six” in Abuja not long ago was bungled. The six traders were allegedly murdered by policemen who branded them armed robbers -- a lie the Police High Command initially bought and defended. It took two different panels set up by the Police and the Federal Government to unearth the truth.
Despite the incontrovertible evidence at their disposal, the Police failed to arrest the key suspects, who meddled with the proceedings at the Police Panel headed by Mr. Mike Okiro, a Deputy Inspector-General of Police. In the process, one of the suspects was allegedly poisoned to death. Even when public outcry compelled the Police to arrest them, a prime suspect, Mr. Abdulsalam Othman, escaped from the custody of the Force Headquarters in Abuja and is yet to be rearrested.
The suspected murder of Mr. Joseph occurred on a day the receiver-manager of a bank that Mobitel was reportedly owing about N1.2 billion allegedly attempted to take over the company. Joseph’s corpse was reportedly found face down on the terrace of the complex housing Mobitel’s office in Lagos. Even before investigating the tragic death, some Police sources in Lagos jumped to the conclusion that the victim committed suicide. But a post-mortem report later confirmed by the Inspector-General of Police, Mr. Sunday Ehindero, indicated that Joseph might have been shot.
Based on the result of the autopsy, many have attributed Mr. Joseph’s murder to internal wrangling between members of the Board of Directors of Mobitel. The possibility of shooting the victim with a gun fitted with a silencer has also been suspected.
The issue, however, is that Mr. Joseph died in a manner most suspicious on the day the receiver-manager visited. The coincidence deserves a thorough scrutiny, especially considering the conflicting accounts of what transpired that day. While reports say, for instance, that the receiver-manager, Mr. Oluwakemi Pinheiro, arrived Mobitel with about 10 policemen and other security operatives, Pinheiro says he was there with only three policemen and four private security guards. And while Pinheiro claims that his business at Mobitel was conducted under a convivial atmosphere, Mobitel staff said the visitors convened a meeting of all staff by force and that while the meeting was on, security men took strategic positions to restrict movement. Reports also said there was a scuffle between Mr. Joseph and the security operatives and that an in-house photographer who attempted to capture the incident was whisked away by the security men.
The Police ought to have arrested all members of the receiver-manager’s team and other suspects immediately after the incident for thorough interrogation. And even when urgent police action was required, the official release of autopsy report was delayed for many days. There are reports that the life of the pathologist that performed autopsy on Mr. Joseph’s corpse is now being threatened because he refused to be part of the intrigues to cover up the crime.
The course of justice will be better served if the FG intervenes, by raising a judicial panel to probe Mr. Joseph’s death and ensure that all the suspects, including all the policemen and private guards at the scene, are allowed to defend themselves as quickly as possible. The dastardly murder of the Mobitel boss must not be allowed to join the growing list of unresolved murder cases. We are watching.
The PUNCH, Tuesday October 04, 2005
___________________ Biafra is inevitable.Illegitimis nil carborundum. Posts: 760 | From: europe | Registered: Jan 2005
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Mobitel: Joseph’s driver fails to convince coroner
MR Lukman Kareem, driver of the late Managing Director/Chief Executive Officer of Mobitel Nigeria Limited, Mr. Alaba Joseph yesterday could not convince members of the coroner inquest ordered by the Lagos State Chief Judge, Justice Ade Alabi, that he saw his late boss jump from the building contrary to his earlier claim.
This happened just as the coroner ruled that the exhumation of the late Mobitel boss slated for tomorrow would not be postponed as requested by the counsel to the receiver/manager Prof. Alfred Kasumu (SAN) and Counsel to Intercontinental Bank, Chief Felix Fagbohungbe (SAN).
The coroner inquest, headed by Chief Magistrate Ayo Odugbesan to investigate the death of the late Joseph, yesterday visited the NICON House office of Mobitel onVictoria Island Lagos.
Kareem had earlier told the inquest that he saw his late boss jump from the balcony of the second floor of the building.
But from the said position, outside the NICON House, where the driver said he saw the late Joseph, the registrar and others who also went down with them, said they could not see anything from that point.
Reversing the arrangement, the coroner and the counsel went down to the the vulcaniser’s workshop and asked some counsel, together with the driver and court registrar to stay at the same point where the coroner and counsel were, including journalists. But looking at the said second floor of the building, one could not see anybody sitting or standing at the point, where the driver claimed he saw his late boss jump from, unless the person on the balcony move closer to the wall on the balcony..
Earlier, Mrs Omowunmi Fadeyi, Secretary to late Joseph and Olasulomi Rhodes and Olayemi Lawal, two employees of Connet Card Limited a company in which late Joseph was a director, who told the inquest while testifying a day earlier that they were with late Joseph when the said receiver manager, accompanied by armed policemen and uniformed security guard came into Mobitel office, explained to the inquest how the receiver manager and policemen came into the company.
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Anyone that still believes the nigerian official armed robbers AKA police or the government itself must be dumber than the word dumb. Why would an eminent physician’s report who stand to gain absolutely zip be in dispute? What a crude nonsense these criminals feed the population. Not long ago I remembered the criminal police outfit claiming that Captain ... (forgot name) the erstwhile nigerian airways pilot that was in-charge of NAA (I think), a Yoroba gentleman as his colleagues attested died when his BMW crashed only for the picture of a single shot that went through the windshield of his automobile to belie their twisted claim. Of course that one too went under the rug as usual, nothing became of it. What a country of theirs, the neocon one-nigerianists who do not appreciate being told the open truth. Sorry, you cannot hide the truth as you hide your avalanche of lies. Still proud of your stupid country, a country where the government covers up the murder in cold blood of a man who left his native Canada to make life a little bearable for the common man in an ungrateful country, nigeria?
To put this to a permanent rest about Chief Charles Alaba Joseph's murder by the government, let the picture of his skull be made public if possible. We should be able to know the difference between a fractured skull due to fall and one with a pierced hole due to shot from the criminal police's outdated weapons. You do not need to be a Yale graduate in forensic science to figure this one out. C’mon let’s roll, you all.
___________________ BIAFRA: The land of my ancestors now, yesterday and always. So it will be! Posts: 2483 | From: Ala Igbo | Registered: Apr 2004
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