Brila FM Suspends Operations in Port Harcourt, Abuja Over N200m Fraud

By Aduragbemi Omiyale

Leading sports radio station in Nigeria, Brila FM, owned by a veteran sports journalist, Mr Larry Izamoje, has suspended its operations in Abuja and Port Harcourt in Rivers State.

The broadcast stations in these two prominent cities of the country are currently not on air as a result of the directive of Mr Izamoje.

He took the action after uncovering fraudulent activities by employees of the company.

It was alleged that Brila FM’s Head of the Port Harcourt branch, Mr Sam Victor Mpong Akakan, has not been remitting funds to the company’s account.

In a statement made available to Business Post, it was stated that Mr Akakan has been arrested by the police in connection with the issue alongside the organisation’s former Chief Accountant, Mr Ekerete Sunday.

Mr Akakan was accused of opening a company, Bricast Communications, only two months after Brila FM Port Harcourt began operations with him as the Head of Station.

It was claimed that he took the first three letters of Brila and the word ‘CAST’ from ‘BroadCASTing’ to register his business name, which he allegedly used to issue invoices meant for Brila FM.

It was said that in connivance with others, Mr Akakan issued several Bricast Communications invoices with Bricast account details to several Brila FM clients instead of the company’s invoice bearing Brila Broadcasting Services Ltd for the diversion of payments for adverts and sponsored programmes aired on Brila FM stations in Abuja and Port Harcourt particularly.

He is also being investigated for forging certificates of broadcasts of Brila FM, tendering the same to clients using his Bricast invoices and getting payments into his Bricast account from such activities.

Mr Akakan was said to have presented himself on several occasions to unsuspecting clients including churches as Brila FM’s marketer and once convinced to do business on Brila FM gave them Bricast invoices for payments to his company (Bricast) repeatedly.

It was claimed that a fraud case involving over N200 million led to the temporary suspension of the Abuja and Port Harcourt branches.