THE Economic and Financial Crimes Commission (EFCC) has so far declined to comment or release a statement regarding allegations that its operatives, alongside personnel from the State Security Services (SSS), abducted and coerced Bayo Ojulari, Group Chief Executive Officer of the Nigerian National Petroleum Company Limited (NNPCL), into resigning from his position.
A report alleged that Ojulari was seized on Friday night, August 1, and taken to a secret location in Abuja, where EFCC Chairman Ola Olukoyede and SSS Director-General Adeola Ajayi allegedly coerced him into signing a resignation letter.
The ICIR contacted the commission’s spokesperson, Dele Oyewale, to verify some of these claims. However, he did not answer calls to his phone, and messages sent via SMS and WhatsApp were not responded to.
The commission is also is yet to release any official statement regarding the specific allegations of forced resignation or abduction since Friday, as of press time.
Meanwhile, earlier today, on Sunday, August 3, it was reported that a senior official of the anti-graft agency confirmed that a petition was submitted to the commission seeking an investigation into the NNPCL boss. But the official, who requested anonymity, dismissed reports of abduction as “fake news.”
This was as the Presidency dismissed the allegations, with Special Adviser Bayo Onanuga affirming on Saturday that Bayo Ojulari remains the substantive Group Chief Executive Officer of the NNPCL.
No official statement had been released as of press time by the national oil company-the NNPCL
Several controversies
There have been growing controversies in recent weeks over corruption allegations at the Nigerian National Petroleum Company Limited (NNPCL). The latest may be linked to an alleged $21 million (N34.65 billion) corruption scandal allegedly involving Ojulari.
Some groups, including OilWatch Nigeria, Workers’ Rights Alliance, and Concerned Citizens Watch, called for Ojulari’s immediate arrest and prosecution.
At a press briefing near the headquarters of the Economic and Financial Crimes Commission (EFCC) in Abuja on July 31, the coalition accused Ojulari of economic sabotage and gross misconduct.
Also, recall that Ojulari, appointed on April 4, 2025, appeared before the Senate Public Accounts Committee, where he was questioned over audit queries involving an unaccounted N210 trillion sum covering the period from 2017 to 2023.
Ojulari was given three weeks to respond to 19 audit-related questions stemming from financial statements prepared by the Auditor-General’s office.
In April, shortly after he was appointed as the NNPCL chief executive officer, some top officials of NNPCL, including the Managing Director of the Port Harcourt Refining Company Limited (PHRC), Ibrahim Onoja; the Managing Director of Warri Refining and Petrochemical Company Limited (WRPC), Efifia Chu, and the Managing Director of Kaduna Refining and Petrochemical Company (KRPC), Mustafa Sugungun, were removed from office.
Mustapha Usman is an investigative journalist with the International Centre for Investigative Reporting. You can easily reach him via: musman@icirnigeria.com. He tweets @UsmanMustapha_M