Nigerian Engineer Accuses Nigerian Breweries PLC of Intellectual theft, Demands N750M Compensation
- 3 years ago
The Chief Executive Officer of an Enugu based engineering firm, Evanpower Engineering Limited, Mr. Kenechukwu Agu, has accused the Nigerian Breweries PLC of illegal use of his intellectual property without his consent and authorisation.
In a virtual interview with journalists, Mr. Agu claimed that the continuous possession of the blueprint of his intellectual work by the Nigerian Breweries had affected another project and robbed him of his livelihood.
According to Mr. Kenechukwu Agu, Nigerian Breweries PLC, NBL engaged his firm EvanPower Engineering Limited in 2017 to revamp their Access Control System at the AMA Brewery Branch of the company at the cost of 3.7 million naira.
Mr Agu alleged that one of the NBL engineers was detailed to be with him while executing the contract, and in the course of the project his blueprint was stolen, and was subsequently used by Nigeria Breweries without his consent.
He therefore demanded that the payment of the contractual fee for the project, and compensation for the alleged illegal use of his intellectual property.
"We have made a monetary demand of N750 million, to be paid for the use of our blueprint without our permission. In addition, the project that they used to lure us, they still have not paid us, they are owing us on the project the sum of N 3,744,153.15".
Mr. Agu also claimed that he and his family members experienced threats and assassination attempts, following his demand for monies accruing from the alleged illegal use of his intellectual work by NBL, a situation that forced him to flee the country.
“We made an attempt to recover this money. We sent letters to their CEO in Lagos. Surprisingly after the meeting we had in Lagos, assassins now started trailing me, gunshots fired at close range, trying to slay me with innocent children in my vehicle". He said.
The EvanPower Chief Executive appealed to the federal and the Enugu State governments alongside the Nigerian Society of Engineers as well as the National Assembly to intervene in the matter, claiming that the alleged withheld blueprint contained technological breakthrough needed to solve the issues of energy theft and over billing as approved by the Nigerian Electricity Regulatory Commission NERC.
"The aim of the project is to stamp out electricity theft. By so doing, tariff will go down. Because the DISCOS are able to make enough money, turnover per substation delivered. But that project is stalled because my blueprint which I need for that project has been hijacked and stolen".
In a virtual interview with journalists, Mr. Agu claimed that the continuous possession of the blueprint of his intellectual work by the Nigerian Breweries had affected another project and robbed him of his livelihood.
According to Mr. Kenechukwu Agu, Nigerian Breweries PLC, NBL engaged his firm EvanPower Engineering Limited in 2017 to revamp their Access Control System at the AMA Brewery Branch of the company at the cost of 3.7 million naira.
Mr Agu alleged that one of the NBL engineers was detailed to be with him while executing the contract, and in the course of the project his blueprint was stolen, and was subsequently used by Nigeria Breweries without his consent.
He therefore demanded that the payment of the contractual fee for the project, and compensation for the alleged illegal use of his intellectual property.
"We have made a monetary demand of N750 million, to be paid for the use of our blueprint without our permission. In addition, the project that they used to lure us, they still have not paid us, they are owing us on the project the sum of N 3,744,153.15".
Mr. Agu also claimed that he and his family members experienced threats and assassination attempts, following his demand for monies accruing from the alleged illegal use of his intellectual work by NBL, a situation that forced him to flee the country.
“We made an attempt to recover this money. We sent letters to their CEO in Lagos. Surprisingly after the meeting we had in Lagos, assassins now started trailing me, gunshots fired at close range, trying to slay me with innocent children in my vehicle". He said.
The EvanPower Chief Executive appealed to the federal and the Enugu State governments alongside the Nigerian Society of Engineers as well as the National Assembly to intervene in the matter, claiming that the alleged withheld blueprint contained technological breakthrough needed to solve the issues of energy theft and over billing as approved by the Nigerian Electricity Regulatory Commission NERC.
"The aim of the project is to stamp out electricity theft. By so doing, tariff will go down. Because the DISCOS are able to make enough money, turnover per substation delivered. But that project is stalled because my blueprint which I need for that project has been hijacked and stolen".