Mkpoikana Udoma
Port Harcourt — The Economic and Financial Crimes Commission, EFCC, has issued a 48-hour ultimatum to online news platform, People’s Gazette, to retract a story alleging that its Executive Chairman, Ola Olukoyede, abducted and coerced the Group Chief Executive Officer of the Nigerian National Petroleum Company Limited, NNPCL, Bayo Ojulari, into resigning from office.
The Commission, through a letter signed by Olukoyede’s legal counsel, Adeyinka Olumide-Fusika, SAN, described the publication as defamatory, fictitious, and capable of causing grievous damage to his reputation and the integrity of the EFCC.
“The publications and the imputations conveyed by them are so damning and cannot be ignored or treated with levity,” Olukoyede’s lawyer stated.
“You must acknowledge your wrongdoing, expressly admit that what you published and imputed against my client are false, apologise for it unreservedly and retract and pull down the stories from your newspaper website and social media handles.”
People’s Gazette had published a report last Saturday, alleging that Olukoyede, in collaboration with the Director-General of the Department of State Services, DSS, Adeola Ajayi, orchestrated a clandestine operation that forced Ojulari to sign a resignation letter at a secret location in Abuja.
The story further linked the incident to an alleged political power play involving British-Nigerian oil entrepreneur Olatimbo Ayinde, who was described by the medium as a powerful influence in the Tinubu administration.
Olukoyede, however, rejected the narrative outright, calling it a “fairy tale concoction” and a deliberate attempt to drag his office and person into a baseless political controversy.
“It is uncharitable and calculated to portray me as someone who has betrayed and subverted public trust by submitting the authority of my office to the dictates and directives of one Olatimbo Ayinde,” the EFCC boss said.
In a follow-up article, the medium alleged that the First Lady, Senator Remi Tinubu, had intervened in the matter, rejecting Ojulari’s alleged resignation, which it claimed was enforced by security agencies acting on Ayinde’s instructions.
The EFCC’s letter has now put People’s Gazette on notice for possible legal action should it fail to comply with the retraction demand within the stipulated timeframe.
“My client shall issue a Writ in the tort of defamation in order to afford you an opportunity to prove your disparagement of his character and reputation, especially in the way of the office he holds,” the letter concluded.
