Victor Essiet Arrested For Fraud Not Kidnapped

Victor Essiet

Contrary to reports that Victor Essiet of the Mandators fame was kidnapped at the weekend, it has been gathered that the musician, who was very popular in the 90s was actually arrested by the Lagos state police command.
The Rastafarian was once arrested last year on allegations bordering on fraud and obtaining under pretence. He was accused of fraudulently collecting $8
6,000 (N18m) from one Maurice Etim. Mr. Etim, is a director and general manager of Edmark Nigeria.
He had earlier been arrested sometime in 2014,  after signing an undertaking to pay up the money in installments, Victor disappeared into thin air, which forced Maurice to involve the police again in the case.
He was reportedly nabbed in his hometown in Nsit Ubium, Akwa Ibom state, where he went for the funeral of his late brother, who died sometime in May and was bundled to Lagos and kept in custody of Lagos state police command in Ikeja.

Daylight.ng spoke with Maurice Etim, who explained how he was duped by Victor Essiet. Read excerpt below:
“Sometime in the last quarter of 2009, we needed to diversify our maritime services business to haulage due to problems we normally encounter in the outsourcing of containers transportation with trucks owners and I instructed my staff , Mr Godwin Okokon, a native of Ikono to get prices of trucks in Berger area of Lagos.
“The following day Godwin came to me and suggested that, instead of buying the trucks locally, that Mr. Victor Essiet (Mandator) is like his uncle, lives in USA and can assist our company in the purchase of good trucks from America and I accepted the idea and even told him that we will not only buy trucks but truck parts and also, set up a modern truck servicing workshop for the maintenance of trucks for ourselves as well as other truck owners.
Based on the above, Godwin passed my mobile line with my email address to Victor Essiet in California. Victor called me and expressed his willingness to assist us buy trucks from America.
In the following weeks, he sent some pictures of good trucks of which I selected two of the trucks. And the prices he quoted were at the high side and we decided to go for a truck for a start.

“He emailed me a company by name Intercontinent Purchase Service based in California with account details for the transfer of the payment. He further advised us to choose from the options of paying the money to his account or that of the company that both options are safe and guaranteed. We opted to pay directly to the company and he brought the shipping documents for the truck to Godwin in Lagos and we cleared the truck at the Port. Subsequently, Godwin came and informed me that one Enobong who is working for Victor Essiet and managing the Intercontinent Purchase Service company that sold the first truck to us called and informed him that, she had sent me some emails but no reply from me and that the email is about some five trucks that the company wants to sell and that if I can buy the five trucks at once, there will be a good discount for me. Then I was just returning from a business trip to Ghana.
“When I checked my box I saw the email from the same company and same lady that bought us the first truck on behalf of Victor Essiet and I decided to transfer the sum of $86,376 being the cost and freight for the five trucks. After the last transfer was done, neither the lady, Victor Essiet nor anyone from the company neither picked my calls nor replied my emails again, since 2010. Victor relocated briefly to Spain with my money.

“I instructed Godwin to report at Interpol in Alagbon, Lagos and a few days later Godwin informed me that Victor had called him and promised to liaise with the company to send the trucks and suggested that we withdraw the case. I told him that since he introduced Victor to me that I leave it to him to handle it very well. After three months no news from Victor Essiet and I decided to petition the police headquarters and Victor Essiet could not be traced, in 2011, during the election campaign I got information that Victor Essiet was in Nigeria and actively involved in the ACN governorship election campaign of Senator Udoedehe, I revived the petition and some policemen were sent from Abuja to arrest him and the policemen were almost mobbed by thugs if not for the timely intervention of Udoedehe and a few weeks later Udoedehe was arrested and sent to Abuja following the politically motivated destruction of properties in Uyo then. While he was in detention, a meeting was arranged between us by the police commissioner Nkedeme, now retired. During the meeting Udoedehe verbally promised to pay the money on behalf of Victor Essiet after the election since he was involved in his election campaign. After the election, I have not seen or heard from him and Victor Essiet as usual disappeared with no traces till last year November when I got information that he was staging a show at the national stadium and I petitioned the Lagos State police command and got him arrested towards the end of the show and he promised to return the trucks in six months’ time.
“I was surprised after the six months, he did not fulfil his undertaking neither did he come back to renegotiate, rather he stayed in America and engaged a lawyer to institute a legal action against the police and named me as one of the defendants but he never appeared. And just last weekend again, my sources alerted me that Victor Essiet was in Akwa Ibom for a family burial from his US base. I immediately alerted the Lagos State Police Command who responded swiftly, got him arrested and brought him to Lagos. Contrary to claims, nobody kidnapped him, he was only arrested for fraud and has been evading justice for five years now. I want my trucks or cash from him nothing personal. If not, let him face the full wrath of the law,’’  Etim narrated.

Victor was arrested while returning from Uyo, where he attended the wake-keep of his late elder brother, Tony Essiet.