The founding partner of Kayode Ajulo (SAN) & Co. Castle of Law, who is on leave of absence on the heels of his engagement as the Attorney General and Commissioner of Justice in Ondo State, Kayode Ajulo (SAN), has denied knowledge and distanced himself from a petition submitted to the police authority by some persons who claim they are being intimidated, cyberbullied, and harassed for seeking justice for the late singer Ilerioluwa Aloba, popularly known as Mohbad.
In a disclaimer put out by Kayode Ajulo (SAN) & Co. Castle of Law, the law firm disclosed that a petition concerning Mohbad submitted to the police authority had the forged signature of its principal partner as well as the letterhead of the company, making it look like the petition emanated from Dr. Kayode Ajulo (SAN). The firm, however, denied knowledge of the said petition, thereby distancing the principal partner and the law firm from the petition.
While urging the general public to disregard the petition cloned in the name of Ajulo, the firm also urged the police authority to investigate and bring the perpetrators of the criminal act to book.
Below is the disclaimer as made available to Justnews:
DISCLAIMER
RE: PETITION REGARDING CRIMINAL INTIMIDATION, ASSAULT, HARASSMENT, CYBERBULLYING, AND THREAT AGAINST CONCERNED NIGERIANS SEEKING JUSTICE FOR THE LATE MR. ALOBA ILERIOLUWA OLADIMEJI (ALSO KNOWN AS MOHBAD) AND THE NEED FOR AN URGENT INVESTIGATION.
We have recently become aware of a Petition that was sent on January 13th, 2024, to the Office of the Commissioner of Police, The Nigerian Police Force, Force Criminal Investigation Department Annex. The petition was purportedly signed with a forged signature that does not belong to our Founding Partner or any other Partner or Associate of our firm, either in Nigeria or elsewhere in the world.
We were made aware of this letter by a respected colleague and close associate of our Founding Partners, Dr. Olukayode Ajulo, OON, SAN, FCIArb.UK, who is currently on leave from the firm as he has been appointed as the Honorable Attorney General & Commissioner for Justice of Ondo State, Nigeria.
We are thankful for the openness of this trusted friend of the firm and his prompt action in bringing the existence of the letter to our attention.
First and foremost, we categorically state that the mentioned letter is a forgery, a sham, a counterfeit, and a poor imitation of the standards, quality, structure, and language that our firm upholds. We strongly condemn this act of fraud against our esteemed firm.
Secondly, the address of our firm in January 2024, when the letter was allegedly written, was No. 21, Amazon Street, Maitama. However, it appears that the forged letter bears the previous office address, NO 4, Abriba Close, Area 7, Garki Abuja, which the firm vacated eight years ago and has not returned to since. This incorrect address is falsely claimed as the firm’s current address in 2024.
Thirdly, upon careful examination, the telephone numbers, email addresses, and websites listed in the forged letter are all unfamiliar to any of our Partners or staff members. None of them are associated with our firm or our usual means of communication. They are all unknown, vague, and should be viewed with suspicion by the Office of the Commissioner of Police, the other offices copied on the letter, and the general public.
Fourthly, following the elevation of our Founding Partner to the rank of a Senior Advocate of Nigeria, our firm has been using the letterhead “KAYODE AJULO (SAN) & Co.” with “CASTLE OF LAW” underneath. In contrast, the cloned petition supposedly written in January 2024 adopts a letterhead that only states “LEGAL PRACTITIONERS & NOTARIES PUBLIC,” which does not accurately represent the breadth of our firm’s services, including “BARRISTERS / SOLICITORS / CONSULTANTS / ARBITRATORS / NOTARIES.”
Furthermore, the cloned letterhead used in the forged petition lacks the Business Name Registration Number, which is a required detail on our approved letterheads and is absent in the forged letterhead used to write the petition to the Commissioner of Police.
The act of forging the aforementioned petition is not only criminal but deeply appalling, disrespectful, alarming, and embarrassing. It should be thoroughly investigated and dealt with promptly. Anyone found responsible for this unscrupulous act should be vigorously pursued by law enforcement agencies to deter others who may entertain the idea of engaging in similar deceitful actions in the future.
Upon learning of the petition, our entire office was profoundly alarmed and deeply disturbed by this negative yet cowardly act committed by an unknown individual(s).
Consequently, our firm has initiated appropriate steps within the confines of the law, and those found to be involved in this dishonest act will be duly sued by our firm based on our findings and verified evidence.
We would like to emphasize that we completely disassociate ourselves from the referenced Petition, and we explicitly state that it was neither prepared nor sent from the Law firm of Kayode Ajulo (SAN) & Co. Castle of Law.
We kindly request the Nigerian Police Force and the public to disregard and distance themselves from the referenced Petition and any associated outcomes.
