By Mike Odiakose
A veteran Journalist, Chief Oliver Okpala has declared that no amount of mudslinging and lies can deter Prince Arthur Eze from recovering resources that were stolen from him.
Chief Okpala was reacting to the uproar that trailed the eviction of some relatives of Chief Eze from one of his properties in Abuja over alleged theft of over N1.5 billion in his private company.
According to Chief Okpala, “the manufacturers of this falsehood alleged that he forcefully took possession of the said house with thugs, that he did not follow the rule of law and that there is an appeal already pending before the court as well as a stay of execution which the owners had filed.
“We make bold to say that an order of final forfeiture had been given by a court of competent jurisdiction and that there is no court order stopping Prince Arthur Eze from taking possession of the said property.
“If they filed a stay of execution they have not served Prince Arthur Eze and there has not been any judgement to that effect.
“The court of appeal has not overturned the judgement of the court which ordered a final forfeiture of the properties in question. So that judgement is still subsisting , therefore Prince Arthur Eze went to enforce it in line with the rule of law.
“It must be understood that he only went to take possession of the properties in line with the judgement that they have been forfeited to him.
“So it is preposterous and pretentious for them to be peddling falsehood that he was acting outside the law. This is an attempt to cast Prince Eze in bad light and we would not allow that. The truth must be told. The record must be set straight and the truth of the matter is that the accused persons were his staff who pilfered his hard earned money which they used to acquire these massive properties.
“Prince Arthur Eze, upon uncovering the heist, reported the matter to the Economic and Financial Crimes Commission, EFCC which investigated that matter and charged the matter to court.
“The court of competent jurisdiction gave a temporary forfeiture order and asked the accused to show cause why a final forfeiture order should not be given which they failed to do.
“They did not even approach the court to show cause why a final forfeiture order should not be given. Thus the properties located in Enugu, Awka and Abuja were forfeited to Prince Eze.
“He had already taken possession of the properties in Enugu. This one over which they are now raising dust was also in compliance with the court judgement.
“It must be emphasized that Prince Arthur Eze is a respecter of the rule of law and that was why he went through the rigours of the contraption of the legal system to get justice and recover what was stolen from him. His recourse to the EFCC and subsequently, the court is a clear attestation of his commitment to the rule of law.
“He also waited for a final forfeiture order before taking possession of his properties. Why should he now be vilified for sticking to the rule of law? Or does fighting to regain one’s stolen wealth amount to oppression as it’s now been portrayed by those who stole from him?
“In the online report, they claimed that the money involved in the crime is 1.5 billion naira but the truth is that the total number of properties seized from them in Enugu, Akwa and Abuja are worth over 11 billion.
“So how can the two young men, Olisaebuka Okwuchukwu Eze and Onyeka Eze who were working for an individual and whose monthly salaries were not up to N200, 000 each be able to amass properties worth over N11 billion if was not proceeds of crime? The facts on the ground is that they illegally acquired the properties by fleecing Prince Arthur Eze, hard facts which the EFCC and the court have duly established.
“We make bold to say that no amount of blackmail and lies would derail Prince Arthur Eze, a stickler to the rule of law to falter in getting back his stolen wealth from those who think there is a short cut to the paradise of success and affluence.”
