How Globasure Director, Christopher Ife Turned Fugitive Over Alleged N18m Fraud

MICHAEL AKINOLA

The Managing Director and Chief Executive Officer, Globasure Technologies Limited, Christopher Ife, located at Plot 14, Henry Ojogbo Crescent, Lekki Phase 1, Lagos State, may have turned fugitive after he reportedly swindled a clearing and forwarding company to the tune of N18m and evaded Police arrest.

P.M.EXPRESS investigation revealed that the Imo State-born Ife disconnected every contacts including his known mobile phone numbers so that he will not be traced or contacted by the Police over the alleged fraud.

When our correspondent visited his office at Lekki, he was told that the CEO was no longer coming to the office because of several invitations served on him by the Police and so went into hiding.

 The suspect was said to be wanted by the Police following a petition to the former Inspector General of Police, IGP Abubakar Adamu, by the Managing Director, Alpha-K Aviation and Allied Services Limited, Otunba Kayode Adesina, whose office is located at Araromi Street, Anifowose area of Ikeja, Lagos.

The suspect, Christopher Ife, was said to have compounded his woes by issuing two dud cheques to the tune of over N17m in order to defraud the company and since then he was said to be evasive over the alleged fraud.

According to Police sources, Ife, who is the alter ego of Globasure Technologies Limited, contacted Alpha K Aviation & Allied Services Limited in 2018 to clear a consignment of Android Point of Sale, POS, belonging to Bet9ja from China to Nigeria.

Initially the arrangement was to cover air freight, Customs and delivery to the office door.
However, due to change in foreign exchange variation, Alpha-K and Allied Services Limited opted to air freight the goods and withdrew from clearing it. The company released documents to enable Ife to use another company to clear the goods on condition that he will pay the freight for bringing the goods to Nigeria.
It was gathered that Alpha-K and Allied Services Limited wrote a detention order to SAHCOL not to release the goods until Ife and his company pay the freight of shipment to Nigeria.
When Ife realized that he will not be able to clear the goods because of the detention order, he went to Otunba Adesina, the MD of Alpha-K and Allied Services Limited, and pleaded for the withdrawal of the detention order to enable him to clear the goods and supply to Bet9ja, who he had lied will only pay him if he supplies the goods.

He was asked to give post dated bank cheques and promissory note of paying the money at the agreed date, which he did by signing two UBA Bank post dated cheques and he was allowed to carry the goods. He supplied to Bet9ja, which paid him in full and he then ran away.
However, the fraud was exposed after the company went to clear the cheques and it was not honoured by the bank and since then Ife had been on the run.

P.M.EXPRESS investigation revealed that Bet9ja had since paid him the contract money worth close to $1m but Ife has refused to pay the money to Otunba Adesina. He was said to be insisting he wants to go to EFCC and Police and that nothing will happen because he knows top people in both Police and EFCC.

When our correspondent contacted the MD, Alpha-K Aviation and Allied Services Limited, Otunba Kayode Adesina over the matter, he confirmed the alleged fraud but declined to make further comments and then referred our reporter to the Police, who is investigating the matter. It was also gathered that it was not the first time, Globasure was defrauding the Alpha-K and Allied Services Limited, which the Police is now investigating.

Several efforts to contact Christopher Ife proved abortive as his known phone numbers were switched off raising the suspicion that he was actually on the run.