Court summons bodyguard Tonto Dikeh for ‘trespassing’

Nollywood actress and politician Tonto Dikeh and her bodyguard Gbenga have been summoned to appear before the Wuse Zone 6 Chief Magistrates Court for alleged assault and trespass.

Naija News reports that in the summons dated August 6, 2024, the two defendants were ordered to appear before the court on August 24, 2024 to answer the charges against them.

The case, with case number CR/359/2024, obtained by Punch, was filed by the managing director of Skyewise Group Limited, Elvis Abuyere, who owns an Abuja-based car dealership.

Abuyere said that Tonto approached the automaker in January to purchase a brand-new 2023 Changan Uni-K model from Mikano Motors.

The appellant, who reportedly had a dealership relationship with Mikano, subsequently paid Mikano 85 million naira as full payment for the car, agreeing that Dikeh would pay the balance in installments within three months of receiving the car.

Tonto reportedly made his first deposit for the 2008/2009 used Lexus, valued at N37 million, topped with an additional payment of N3.5 million.

However, the movie star failed to pay the balance by the end of April, when the payment period expired, thus violating the agreement.

On May 1, Abuyere recovered the car from Dikeh after efforts to collect the balance proved futile. Dikeh then paid N20 million, N17 million and N5 million, leaving an outstanding balance of N2.1 million.

On July 30, the actress contacted the car manufacturer to get the car repaired and it was taken for maintenance. After the repairs were completed, the car manufacturer asked her for the remaining N2.7 million.

However, she was reported to have forcibly entered the complainant’s business premises in Maitama, Abuja, along with her bodyguard and two women, thereby committing a “criminal offence”.

The actor is also accused of assaulting the plaintiff and several members of her company’s staff.

The four individuals disrupted the automaker’s business operations, damaged property, and threatened to use social media to harm the complainant’s business.