The allegations stem from a petition submitted in July 2024 by community representatives including Moses Oddiri, Andrew Oddiri, Ovoke Akpobor, and Favour Aduku. The petition sought EFCC intervention after discovering that Heritage Energy, operators of the Orogun oil wells since 2018, allegedly failed to remit statutory community development payments.
Sources familiar with the petition told SaharaReporters that despite periodic payments claimed by Heritage Energy, “none of the funds reached the community, and their existence was concealed for years.”
DSS Abduction Allegation Deepens Crisis
The situation escalated after human rights lawyer, Moses Oddiri, who signed the petition, was reportedly abducted from his Lagos residence by operatives of the Department of State Services (DSS) allegedly acting on the orders of EFCC Chairman Olukoyede.
The petitioners later received a delayed EFCC letter inviting them to Abuja over a “recovery” linked to the petition, raising further suspicion about the commission’s handling of the matter.
Claims of Secret Accounts and Withheld Signatories
In February 2025, EFCC Chairman Olukoyede allegedly informed one of the petitioners that Heritage Energy’s MD had paid over ₦4 billion into an Orogun community account and that the EFCC had placed a lien on the funds. However, the commission reportedly refused to disclose the identities of the account signatories.
“We wrote formally on April 7, 2025, requesting details of the signatories, but we received no response,” a community source said.
Conflicting Payments Add to Suspicion
In a separate development, Heritage Energy admitted in a July 10, 2025 letter that it had paid ₦4.1 billion to the Uherevie Host Community Development Trust—an entirely different community from Orogun.
The EFCC reportedly only obtained evidence of this Uherevie payment months later, further fueling concerns that the recovered Orogun funds may have been diverted and misrepresented.
Pattern of Misappropriation Alleged
Community insiders accused Heritage Energy of a long-standing practice of paying host community funds into accounts controlled by “a few insiders,” excluding the actual beneficiaries.
“This is exactly what has happened with Orogun, and the EFCC chairman has enabled it,” a lawyer familiar with the case said.
EFCC Denies Wrongdoing
In its response, the EFCC denied any collusion with Heritage Energy, insisting that Oddiri was acting out of personal interest. According to the commission, funds were paid according to the Petroleum Industry Act (PIA), which mandates payment through Host Community Benefit Trusts.
The EFCC said Oddiri allegedly wanted the funds paid into his NGO account instead, contrary to the law.
Meanwhile, UK authorities have confirmed receiving Oddiri’s fraud complaint against the EFCC chairman and referred it to the National Fraud Intelligence Bureau for review.
