HOW AN ALREADY DEREGISTERED COMPANY WAS USED TO FLEECE APPLICANTS OVER THE IMMIGRATIONS EMPLOYMENT SCANDAL

Drexel Nigeria Limited was registered in Nigeria in 1989. The Company did business and was believed to have filed returns to the Corporate Affairs Commission up till 1994. Legally, the company seized to exist after it failed to file returns for ten years and it was deemed to have died. Indeed, like every other company that failed to file Annual reports, the Corporate Affairs Commisssion is deemed to have delisted the company.

Perhaps this explains why, when we made enquiries at the C.A.C. over the ownership of the Company, we were informed that the company does not exist as the CAC had already delisted it and removed its name as a company in Nigeria. What it meant was that the company that the Interior Minister singlehandedly picked to coordinate and administer the Immigrations appointment, which led to the death of 19 jobseekers was indeed a company that under Nigerian laws cannot be sued and cannot be held liable for what happened to the hapless job seekers.

As at the time of its registration the company was engaged essentially for clearing and forwarding purposes. Its Directors were Kolawole AYODEJI Sofeso, Daniel Adetunji Sofeso, Micheal Abayomi Sofeso, Daniel Suleiman Inman, and Collins Ayodeji Osiwoja with its corporate Address at 8c Reeve Road, Ikoyi Lagos.

Ever since the death of the applicants during the Immigration recruitment exercise, news that have filtered out indicated that the Immigrations boss, and even the Board in charge of the Immigrations, Civil Defence and Prisons Department were alienated by the Minister in the recruitment exercise. Indeed, letters to the other paramilitary bodies especially the NSCDC briefing them and directing that they should provide support services for the exercise were sent in two days before the event thereby giving little room for preparations.

Unconfirmed reports also indicated that the office of the Secretary to the Government of the Federation had complained about the whole recruitment exercise after the President received a petition by a NGO indicating that the recruitment was not being done in good faith.

Meanwhile, in a common mop up exercise, senior journalists were given 500,000 Naira each in Abuja last weekend by representatives of Drexel Nigeria Limited in a bid to ensure that they were not exposed. Confirmed sources indicated that only four of the senior journalists approached refused to take the money claiming it was blood money as others took the money and chose to close ttheir eyes to the seeming irregularity in the company’s registration papers.

Abujareporter.com gathered exclusively that the Senate President’s trip abroad to attend the Inter Parliamentary Union Meeting as the leader of delegation prevented the President who also travelled abroad from taking an action on the Minister of Interior, Comrade Abba Moro. This is because Abba Moro is the Senate President’s man and the President cannot afford to offend the head of the legislative arm of Government given the enormous supportive role he has been giving the latter since when late President Umoru Musa Yar Adua was smuggled back to the country before he eventually died.

--Martins Olowo