Alcohol dealer sues police over seizure of goods

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►The owner of a company dealing in alcoholic drinks, Olaide Iyanuoluwa Nigeria Limited, on Tuesday dragged the Nigerian Police Force before a Federal High Court in Lagos for unlawful seizure of her alcoholic drinks worth about N38m.

►The dealer, who said the drinks were imported from the Benin Republic, told the court that the police seized them on the claim that they were stolen.

While praying for an urgent intervention of the court, the dealer said she had been losing about N350,000 daily since her goods were seized on August 2, 2014.

Among other reliefs, she wanted the court to order the police to release her goods and unseal her warehouse with immediate effect.

She also asked the court to award N150m as damages against the defendants, in addition to the payment of N350,000 daily for the number of days the police had held unto the goods.

Joined as defendants in the suit were one Ekulo International Limited, a rival alcohol dealer; the Inspector General of Police and the Commissioner of Police, Lagos State.

While seeking for the leave of the court to hear the case during vacation, counsel for the dealer, Mr. Abiodun Adesanya, said his client would incur monumental losses if the case was adjourned till after the court’s vacation.

He said, “If this case is adjourned, the plaintiff will keep incurring not only a cost of N350,000 a day, the sealing of the warehouse has also prevented the company from carrying out its business as usual.”

From Adesanya’s argument, it was gathered that police officers from the Federal Special Anti-Robbery Squad, Adeniji Adele, intercepted the plaintif’s trucks loaded with bottles of Baron Romero on August 2, 2014.

According to Adesanya, the police officers who came in company with an official of the first defendant, a rival company, said the plaintif should contact its rival as to why the goods were being seized.

He told the court that apart from towing away the truck marked, AZ 8883 RB, containing the drinks, the warehouse of the plaintif was also sealed up.

Having been convinced that the matter deserved to be entertained during the court’s vacation, Justice Okon Abang adjourned till August 13.