By Blessing Patrick
The member member representing Oshodi/Isolo II, Federal Constituency, Lagos, Hon. (Barr.) Jesse Okey-Joe Onuakalusi, has written a petition against one Ajayi Samuel Crowther for impersonating him.
The petition which was written through his solicitors, Okpoko SAN, and Associates was addressed to the Divisional Police Officer, National Assembly Complex, Three Arms Zone, Maitama Abuja.
According to the lawmaker, the lawmaker previously had an aide called Mr. Ajayi Samuel Crowther whom he had earlier discharged.
According to the petition, the lawmaker said sometime in April, 2024, he received a message from the Embassy of the Republic of Taiwan, requesting him to authenticate the veracity of a letter purportedly written by him on behalf of Mr. Ajayi Samuel Crowther nominating him for the one slot given to him for training in Taiwan.
The petition reads, “When our client went through the letter which was clearly written on forged Letter Head, he became dumbfounded and agitated because, he never wrote such a letter and never signed such letter. It was obvious that the said Mr. Ajayi Samuel Crowther had cleverly and criminally forged the letter head of the Honorable member, write the letter, signed it and forwarded it to the Taiwan Mission to Nigeria.
“He promptly responded by sending a message to the Taiwan Head of Mission, Ambassador Andy Yih-Ping Liu, denying authorship of the letter.
“Sir, we hasten to reiterate strongly that our client, Hon. Jesse Okey- Joe Onuakalusi, never wrote such letter and never signed any such letter on behalf of Mr. Ajayi Samuel Crowther. In fact, if the Taiwan Mission in Nigeria, had not contacted him, he would not have known of the conduct of Mr. Ajayi Samuel Crowther and the letter.
“Our client therefore requests that the said Mr. Ajayi Samuel Crowther be invited by you and interrogated with respect to this. Further, he should be investigated whether there have been other such letters written by the said Mr. Ajayi Crowther to other agencies in Nigeria, whether domestic or international.
“Forgery, impersonation and misrepresentation are serious criminal conducts both under our Criminal Codes and Penal Codes. For someone to have the effrontery to forge the letter head and signature of a Legislator in this country is the height of impunity. We humbly request you to give this matter the seriousness it deserves and bring the culprit to justice by a thorough investigation so that he suffers the consequences of his crimes.”
