LAGOS BUSINESSMAN, TUNJI OWOEYE’S QUANDARY
His family knows he detests negative publicity. His friends say he is gentlemanly. So also his business associates love him for being business-minded.
But how did this gentleman reportedly find himself in an avoidable mess, which has now made him a subject of criticism? This is the story of Tunji Owoeye, a Lagos businessman and Managing Director of Elephant Group Limited, who is currently enmeshed in a controversy that is threatening the foundation of his business empire.
Spyglass gathered that Owoeye, a Fellow of the Institute of Chartered Accountant of Nigeria, is trying hard to wriggle himself out of a legal jigsaw over an alleged crime before a federal high court in Lagos.
Owoeye, who is currently the Chairman, Board of Trustees of National Cashew Association of Nigeria (NCAN), is facing trial for importation of urea fertilizer components used in making Improvised Explosive Devices, an offence punishable under Section 47(1)(c) of the Customs and Excise Management Act Cap C. 45 Laws of the Federation 2004. This is the offence preferred against him in a criminal charge number FHC/207C/17 filed before the court in 2016 by Assistant Chief State Counsel, Department of Public Prosecutions of the Federation, A. K. Alilu, on behalf of the Attorney General of the Federation.
It was also gathered that further proceedings have been adjourned until February 1, 2018.
Owoeye, a former General Manager, Treasury and Banking Operations, Frontline Savings and Mortgage Limited, is a member of the Agriculture and Food Security Policy Commission of the Nigeria Economic Summit Group (NESG), a non-governmental body saddled with the responsibility of strategic planning for the future of Nigeria.