The former Commissioner of Police in Anambra State, Aderemi Adeoye, has denied allegations of fraud levelled against him and claims that he said ‘he is a billionaire’ during his tenure as the state’s Commissioner of Police.
Speaking during an appearance on Arise TV on Friday, Adeoye stated that, contrary to claims in the media, he never neglected his official duty, while requesting clips where he purportedly made the statement.
In January 2024, a petition was submitted to Kayode Egbetokun, the Inspector General of Police (IGP), urging his intervention in a purported case of fraud and mismanagement of funds involving Adeoye. The group alleged that he was running a “Ponzi scheme” and mishandling funds intended for investments within Alpha Trust Investment Club (ATIC), which he co-founded.
He said, “I have never said anything and withdrew it. I weigh my words before I utter them, and every word I say, I say in good faith. I never said I am now a billionaire, and anyone who has proof to the contrary is challenged to produce it.
“Now, going to whether I have used my office, those who made the assertion can also prove that if they have evidence. I have never abused my office, I have never amassed wealth, and I have never done anything that is against civil service rules or any law known to man.
“Civil service rules and police code of conduct do not bar anyone from investing. There is no law against buying shares, and there is no law against investing in land or property. The only thing is that you must be able to justify the means. There is no law against being a member of a cooperative.
The former CP clarified that he is not operating a company; rather, he merely established an investment club that attracted numerous members.
His words: “The name of the club I founded is Alpha Trust Investment Club, and as I mentioned earlier, our loan arm is registered as a cooperative, Arctic Cooperative Multipurpose Society Limited, registered with the Lagos State Government. We carry on investments under the business name Arctic Ventures and Business Services; that is our investment name.
“When the club I founded was mentioned, I heard the word ‘limited’ added to it, and it was ascribed to me. What a fallacy. We don’t have a company; it is not a company. It is an investment club that has an arm that is registered with the Lagos State government as a cooperative, and we are registered with the Corporate Affairs Commission.”
Adeoye also denied allegations that he neglected his office, adding that the investment club he co-founded never conflicted with his job as a policeman.
“The testimony is out there, and it is eloquent. I paid total commitment to my job day and night, because running the club does not require me to be physically anywhere else. My job never suffered any lack of attention. I keep awake at night, keeping vigil to ensure if there is any attack anywhere, I can get information promptly and respond accordingly, and the evidence are also there.”
Speaking on the scope of his business, he said, “In terms of membership, we are 1,400 strong, 1,400 members, and those who I said were expelled for criminal misconduct were 33. Now, in terms of the size of the investment, our asset, going by the prices of various estates in which we have invested, we are in the neighbourhood of, give or take, a few hundreds of million, around N20 billion.
“And if you divide N20 billion by 1,400 members, you will discover that the average is only N15 million. So, I do not know where the idea that one person or one member is a billionaire came from.
“We have an address that is registered and through which we can be reached, but we don’t need it because we’re not doing business, we are investing,” he said.
