IBD Dende, Ogun socialite accused of smuggling, gunrunning writes IGP Egbetokun

• Egungbohun, in a petition to the Inspector General of Police (IGP), Kayode Egbetokun, said the allegations were defamatory.

An Ogun State-based hotelier, Ibrahim Dende Egungbogun, has refuted the allegations of smuggling and gunrunning leveled against him.

The founder of the Foundation for Investigative Journalism (FIJ), Fisayo Soyombo, in an investi-gative report headlined: “Undercover as a smuggler”, revealed that the hotelier, popularly known as IBD Dende, is the ringleader of a smuggling syndicate.

Soyombo’s investigation also stated that Dende has been successful in his illegal and nefarious activities and able to cover up his tracks because he has men of the Nigeria Customs Service (NCS) in his pocket.

He asserted that customs officers conspired with smugglers to bring contrabands like rice, poultry products and guns into Nigeria.

The report also accused the customs of killing “petty thieves” and leaving the likes of IBD Dende, who the reporter described as “Ilaro’s biggest smuggler”, to walk freely.

But Egungbohun, in a petition to the Inspec-tor General of Police (IGP), Kayode Egbetokun, says the allegations were defamatory.

He stated that the report was aimed at tarnishing his image and destroying his reputation and demanded an investigation by the police.

In the letter made available to newsmen in Abeokuta, Ogun State, on Monday, the businessmen described the report as malicious.

The letter was written by his legal counsel, Law Fix Chambers, and signed by D O Folalu, a prin-cipal counsel at the chamber.

Two separate letters were also written to Arise Television and the National Broadcasting Commission (NBC) over the airing of the report.

Egungbohun explained that contrary to the report, he was a customs-licensed freight agent with legitimate businesses cutting across hospitality, agriculture, quarry and transportation.

The letter to the IGP reads in part: “It is also the position of our client that these orchestrated al-legations are designed for the purpose of causing inconvenience, danger, criminal intimidation, enmity, hatred and needles anxiety to our client contrary to Section 24 of the Cybercrime (Prohi-bition, Prevention) Act, 2015.

“In the light of the foregoing, we hereby request your office to cause the publications to be inves-tigated with utmost urgency and seriousness as they have implications not only on the person of our client, but for the security architecture of our dear country.”