27th February, 2024
By Adejoke Adeleye/Ogun
A traditional ruler in Yewa North Local Government Area of Ogun State, Oba Akintunde Akinyemi, has faulted the claim that a popular businessman from his community, lbrahim Dende Egungbohun, aka IBD Dende is a smuggler and a gun runner.
Oba Akinyemi who is the Eselu of Iselu kingdom said this while reacting to a report by the Foundation for Investigative Journalism (FIJ) indicating that its investigations revealed that Egungbohun, popularly known as IBD Dende is engaged in smuggling contrabands, such as foreign parboiled rice, poultry products, and guns into the country through Ogun State border communities.
Egungbohun, a hotelier was accused of conniving with customs officers to smuggle illicit items into the country.
But Oba Akinyemi in a statement made available to journalists in Abeokuta on Monday, alleged that the report was aimed at defaming Egungbohun, who hails from Ilaro in Yewa South local government area of Ogun State.
The Monarch said contrary to the report, Egungbohun, who he described as one of his subjects is a man of high integrity and pedigree who is engaged in a legitimate business of clearing and forwarding.
“IBD Dende is not a smuggler, but a clearing and forwarding agent who carries out his legitimate work of importation of goods and services through the land border just like other clearing and forwarding agents who carry out their jobs through the Apapa Port, among others.
“The investigation carried out by the reporter was done to defame the person of IBD Dende because the source(s) of his information was questionable. How on earth would a journalist interrogate certain people in the community instead of interfacing with the security agents whose jobs are to secure the border areas in the country like the Nigeria Customs Service, the Directorate of State Security (DSS), the Nigeria Police Force?
“The assertion that IBD Dende had been arrested several times and nothing happened to him was a baseless statement. It is a normal thing to invite people for questioning and if the security agents are satisfied with any suspects, they will definitely release him.
“The reporter should not usurp the work of the security agents who have not found anything incriminating on different occasions that IBD Dende was interrogated”, the monarch said.