Chairman and Chief Executive Officer of Innoson Vehicle Manufacturing Company Limited, Chief Innocent Chukwuma (right), conducting former Minister of Information and Culture, Alhaji Lai Mohammed (middle), on a facility tour of the company in Nnewi, Anambra State recently.
The news of another bench warrant for arrest of Innoson Motors Chief Executive, Chief Innocent Chukwuma, has been received by leading manufacturers on Monday with anger and frustration.
Recall that Justice Ayokunle Faji of a Federal High Court in Lagos yesterday issued a bench warrant for the arrest and production in court of CEO of Innoson Nigeria Ltd, Innocent Chukwuma and two others, over fraud allegations.
In his reaction, Chief Uzodinma Ozodinobi, an industrialist said “The level of judicial fireworks deployed to pull down the only surviving indigenous auto producer in Nigeria in the last couple of years have reached a level the Federal Government should intervene.
“This is a country where investors are being called up and down to come and invest from abroad, but those of us struggling to survive are not allowed to drink water and drop the cup.
“Innosson Motors had hosted several top officials of the government in the last couple of years under this present administration, but he has not gotten any form of positive multiplier effect from the visits. The VP was once there, the former Minister of Information was also there and even the former Head of State, Gen Abubakar was there, but instead of support and protection from the government, what the young man had been receiving is distraction from one court of law to another.
“I recall around February last year, there was similar warrant of arrest by another court all in Lagos. I think that was by Justice Mojishola Dada on Friday, Feb. 9, for not just arrest but including detention of Chukwuma in prison for failure to attend court proceedings for formal arraignment by the Economic and financial Crime Commission (EFCC).
Business Hilights recalls also that Justice Dada had adjourned the proceedings to March 14, 2018, after a melodrama with Chukwuma’s counsel whom she alleged committed contempt in the face of the court via his outburst that the matter was a `gross abuse’ of court process. Chukwuma in his application for stay of execution dated and filed Feb. 9 had stated that the grounds for the stay of execution of the bench warrant was to enable the defendant conclude his pending appeal at the Court of Appeal and a pending motion before the court.
In his submission, Chief Ozodinobi noted that while he is not obstructing the wheel of justice, “Time has come for the Federal Government to come to the rescue of indigenous firms from all forms of distractions so that more waiting investors both at home and abroad can come in without fear of molestation.
“What am saying is enough is enough on incessant distraction of industrial activities in Innoson Motors, Nnewi.
“To me, I think with this level of industrial disturbances, Nigerian may not be able to match the influx of goods from other African economies if the Federal Government happens to sign the African Continental Free Trade Area (AfCFTA) deal, Chief Ozodinobi observed.
