Chairman of Titan Trust Bank (TTB), Babatunde Lemo, has been invited again by the Special Investigator into the activities of the Central Bank of Nigeria (CBN), Jim Obazee, in connection with the acquisition of Union Bank of Nigeria Plc by TTB.
Mr. Lemo’s inviation is contained in a letter, dated December 24, 2023 and signed by Head of Operations in the Office of the Special Investigator, DCP, Eloho Okpoziakpoto.
His invitation to appear on Thursday, December 28, is sequel to his defence of acquisition of Union Bank by TTB in The Punch newspaper, which the Special Investigator said was offensive and contrary to statements made under caution by persons connected with the acquisition.
Mr. Lemo is expected to appear with two shareholders, Cornelius Vink and Rahul Savara on Thursday by 2pm at the Department of Force Intelligence, Abuja “without fail or excuse”
Mr. Vink and Savara, both of whom Lemo had described as “prominent global entrepreneurs and having thriving businesses in Nigeria” had failed to take advantage of opportunity given to them via a letter dated August 28, 2023 as they were said to be out of Nigeria, and the Special Investigator had since not heard from them nor received the requested documents.
The special investigator had in his report alleged that some persons “were used as proxies by a former CBN Governor, Godwin Emefiele, to set up Titan Trust Bank and acquire Union Bank.”
Obazee, who was appointed special investigator in July 2023, submitted his final report tagged, ‘Report of the Special Investigation on CBN and Related Entities (Chargeable offences) to the Presidency on December 20, 2023.
In two separate reports on the acquisition of UBN and Keystone Bank submitted to President Bola Tinubu last Wednesday, the Special Investigator also alleged that Emefiele used proxies to acquire Keystone Bank without evidence of payment, the Special Investigator, DCP Eloho Okpoziakpo.
However, Lemo insisted that the establishment of TTB and the subsequent acquisition of Union Bank “were transparent and duly verified by the relevant regulatory bodies.”
In furtherance of the investigation into the UBN deal, and in response to Lemo’s defence, the investigator in the letter titled, ‘RE: CBN investigation activities: Invitation for a follow-up meeting with the Special Investigator,’ took the TTB chairman to task on his defence
The letter read in part: ‘’Please, refer to your discussion with the Special Investigator earlier today regarding the offensive defence that your good self issued in PUNCH newspapers, on behalf of TTB which you chair, as well as the email you sent to the Special Investigator today wherein you tried to provide clarification on your reaction to the report on TTB.”
