SaharaReporters had earlier revealed in August that President Bola Tinubu’s Chief Security Officer (CSO), Adegboyega Fasasi, and his Chief Personal Security Officer, Usman Shugaba, were implicated in a $1.5 million bribery scandal. The report alleged that the two security aides facilitated Ojulari’s access to meet President Tinubu at the Aso Rock Villa, Abuja, on June 10, after he allegedly paid them off.
Ojulari is also currently being investigated for alleged money laundering involving the transfer of millions of dollars to AA&R Investment Group, a firm owned by Abdullahi Bashir-Haske, son-in-law of former Vice President Atiku Abubakar, who was Tinubu’s main rival in the 2023 general elections.
In a petition obtained on Friday, the Citizens Awareness Against Corruption and Social Vices Initiative (CAACASVI)expressed grave concern over what it described as “emerging developments that pose a serious threat to the credibility of the NNPCL and the integrity of the current administration.”
The group, in its submission, referenced whistleblower accounts and investigative reports alleging that large sums of U.S. dollars were funneled into AA&R Investment Group, a company with political ties. It warned that such transactions could amount to economic sabotage and might even hint at collusion across political divides.
CAACASVI demanded that Mr. Ojulari issue a public denial or clarification within seven working days. The group also called on the NNPCL’s Anti-Corruption Unit to immediately distance the corporation from any dealings with AA&R Investment Group.
The petition, signed by Comrade Olumuyiwa Onlede, the group’s National President, and copied to the Director-General of the Department of State Services (DSS), the Inspector-General of Police, and the Chief of Staff to the President, warned that failure to comply would result in coordinated nationwide protests across NNPCL offices by a coalition of civil society organisations.
Part of the petition reads:
“In light of the foregoing, and in the interest of justice, national stability, and the protection of the President’s reputation, we hereby demand that Mr. Bayo Ojulari issue a public and unequivocal denial or clarification of the said allegations within seven (7) working days of receiving this petition.
That a statement be issued by the Anti-Corruption Unit of NNPCL immediately distancing the agency from all transactions linked to AA&R Investment Group.
Failure to meet these demands will leave us with no choice but to mobilise civil society organisations across the country to embark on a massive nationwide protest in all NNPCL offices, calling for the immediate removal of Mr. Bayo Ojulari and for a full-scale independent probe.”
The allegations and petition have once again placed the embattled NNPCL boss at the center of a storm that observers say could test both the company’s credibility and the anti-corruption posture of the Tinubu administration.
