UBA has denied the involvement of Chairman, Tony Elumelu in Dele Farotimi’s arrest in Lagos.
NaijaOnPoint Nigeria reports that the United Bank for Africa (UBA) has denied any involvement of its chairman, Tony Elumelu, in the Nigerian police arrest of the human rights lawyer, Dele Farotimi.
This Nigeria news platform understands that SaharaReporters in a viral report on Tuesday claimed that Farotimi was arrested by the Nigerian police at Zone 2 in Lagos following an alleged petition filed by Tony Elumelu, the chairman of United Bank for Africa (UBA) Group.
Meanwhile, the UBA denied any involvement of its chairman in the arrest, insisting that Elumelu never authorised the police to arrest anyone let alone, the human rights lawyer, Farotimi.
“Tony Elumelu has no hand in Dele’s arrest,” a top source in the bank said in a reaction to SaharaReporters.
Recall that Farotimi raised the alarm over alleged threats to his life by some Nigerian elites in collusion with the security agencies and some legal experts.
Farotimi in the statement he personally signed and captioned, “They Want to Silence Me”, narrated how on November 11, he was informed that an invitation letter from the Zone 2, Police Command, was delivered to his office.
According to him, the letter requested that he should report to the station on November 13, at 10:00 AM.
The lawyer who said that he was accompanied by his legal counsel, noted that he arrived at the station at 9:45 AM on the stated date, and that at the station, he was presented with a petition written by a lawyer, accusing him of defamation.
“Despite finding the petition baseless, I addressed its content,” Farotimi said.
The arrest of Farotimi has since triggered outrage as many Nigerian and civil rights organisations have condemned his arrest and demanded his immediate release. They have also called on Nigerian police to stop being used as an instrument of oppression on behalf of the rich.