Lawyers to the Managing Director/Chief Executive Officer of Miden Systems Limited, Dr Brendan Usoro, and Miden Systems Limited have denied claims that it exploited the police and the National Assembly in a debt matter involving Sterling Bank.

In a letter to The PUNCH, which was signed by Mary Warribo of M.C. Chambers in Abuja, the petitioner maintained that it undertook constitutionally laid down procedures to seek redresses.

Usoro and Miden Systems Limited had petitioned the Federal House of Representatives of the Nigerian National Assembly against Sterling Bank Plc over alleged wrongful mismanagement and misappropriation of funds in the company’s accounts domiciled with the bank.

It was revealed that the matter had been referred to the House of Representatives Committee on Public Petitions, which then referred the matter to the office of the Inspector General of Police for investigation.

The lawyers said, “The office of the Inspector-General of Police investigated the matter and forwarded its report to the House of Representatives Committee on Public Petitions. The IGP, in their report, indicted Sterling Bank Plc. Our clients never indicted the bank. Note also that the IGP’s investigation report read to the Committee was emphatic on the fact that they relied solely on the bank documents and statements submitted by the bank during interrogation.”

They added that although there was a court ruling/judgement on the subject matter, “there is a pending appeal against the ruling, which is purely a civil matter that has not been finally determined, while the IGP investigated the criminal aspect of the transaction as directed by the House Committee on Public Petitions. This, the law allows, and the issue of sub judice does not arise.

“According to our clients, they do not know any of the members of the Public Petitions Committee; rather, they only decided to use the constitutionally laid down avenue to ventilate their grievances.”

Meanwhile, Sterling Bank Limited has also petitioned the Inspector-General of Police, Kayode Egbetokun, on the matter.