The Special Investigation Unit (SIU) of the Nigeria Police Force (NPF) has arrested Olamilekan Akinduro, a Lagos-based accountant, accusing him of mobilising a group of disgruntled investors from Oxford International Group to demand their long-overdue funds.
AbdulFatai Oshioda, a friend of Akinduro who is also the office of the Inspector General of Police, told FIJ that the police apprehended Akinduro at Abule-Egba in Lagos on Saturday and swiftly transported him to Abuja in the early hours of Sunday morning for a crime he was initially unaware of.
He stated that the police detained him at Maitama Police Station on Sunday before transferring him to the office of the Inspector General of Police on Monday.
Oshioda added that upon Akinduro’s arrival in Abuja on Sunday, he discovered that Teniola Adesanya, the chairman of Oxford International Group, had petitioned the police to arrest him on five grounds.
“Teniola Adesanya accused him of creating a group to incite violence against him. He also accused Akinduro of defrauding some of Oxford’s investors,” Oshioda told FIJ.
“One of the charges is that Oxford owed him N1 million but paid him N500,000 and that he had refused to collect the remaining N500,000 they offered him. This is untrue. They also claimed that he made a defamatory publication about them, which is also not true.”
BACKGROUND OF THE MATTER
Many Nigerians invested with Oxford International Group in 2021 and 2022, expecting to receive returns at the end of their stipulated investment periods. However, this did not materialise for many investors like Akinduro and this person.
In December 2022, Akinduro informed FIJ that he invested N11.5 million between December 2021 and January 2022, anticipating a return of at least N13.465 million between June and October 2022, but Oxford Dredging, a subsidiary of Oxford International Group with which he invested, has yet to return his funds.
According to Akinduro, he intended to use the expected return on investment to pay for his master’s tuition at the University of Derby, England, but he lost his admission because the organisation only ended up paying him N1 million, which could not suffice.
Before losing his admission status, Akinduro contacted Oxford Dredging multiple times, but to no avail. Worse still, he said Oxford Group’s lawyer was rude to him.
WHY AKINDURO IS BEING TARGETED
In a separate conversation with FIJ this year, Akinduro stated that he had spoken with a group of disgruntled investors from Oxford Group, and they intended to devise a means of recovering their money.
Later, Akinduro told FIJ that members of the aggrieved investors’ group contributed some funds, which he and another investor used to travel to Abuja, where they presented their case before Benjamin Kalu, the Deputy Speaker of the House of Representatives.
POLICE: ‘COME TO OUR OFFICE’
When FIJ called Frank Omale, the Investigating Police Officer (IPO), he did not comment on the matter but asked FIJ to meet him at his office for more information. When FIJ asked for the location of his office, he said we should go to the headquarters of the police force in Abuja.
FIJ also called Muyiwa Adejobi, spokesman of the police, but he did not take his call. He had also not responded to a text sent to his line at press time.
