“Niger Delta Outrage: EFCC Chairman Linked to Alleged ₦4bn Fraud Against Orogun Community”
By Passman Akpos
Delta State, Nigeria – Tensions have escalated in the Orogun Oil Producing Community of Delta State following serious allegations that the Chairman of the Economic and Financial Crimes Commission (EFCC), Mr. Ola Olukoyede, and the Managing Director of Heritage Energy Operational Services Ltd (HEOSL), Mr. Ado Oseragbaje, conspired to divert more than ₦4 billion allegedly recovered for the community.
The accusations, made by concerned indigenes and repeated in petitions and interviews sent to SaharaReporters, stem from a July 2024 petition submitted to the EFCC by community representatives including Moses Oddiri, Andrew Oddiri, Ovoke Akpobor, and Favor Aduku. The petition requested a probe into alleged missing statutory community development payments from Heritage Energy.
This development follows the reported abduction of human rights lawyer and activist, Moses Oddiri, allegedly by operatives of the Department of State Services (DSS) acting on the EFCC chairman’s orders — a claim the commission has not publicly addressed in detail.
Claims of Undisclosed Payments and Withheld Information
According to the petitioners, Heritage Energy—operator of the Orogun oil wells since 2018—failed for years to disclose the payment of statutory community funds.
“The funds, which should have been paid directly to Orogun, were instead concealed, and the community never knew about their existence,” a source familiar with the petition stated.
Heritage Energy is said to have claimed periodic payments, though community members insist none ever reached them.
The controversy deepened when, in February 2025, EFCC Chairman Olukoyede allegedly informed one of the petitioners that Heritage’s MD had paid over ₦4 billion into an Orogun-linked account, which he said had been placed under an EFCC lien.
However, the petitioners claim the identities of the account signatories were withheld, and multiple letters demanding transparency — including one dated April 7, 2025 — went unanswered.
Confusion Over Separate ₦4.1 Billion Uherevie Payment
Tensions grew further when it emerged that Heritage Energy also paid ₦4.166 billion into the Uherevie Host Community Development Trust (UHCDT) on January 31, 2025, a payment unrelated to Orogun and instead linked to petitions from the Kokori/Isoitseja communities.
Critics allege the EFCC only obtained evidence of this Uherevie payment in May 2025 — months after the chairman had already claimed to have recovered funds for Orogun.
According to community representatives, this sequence of events suggests a deliberate attempt to confuse the two payments.
“This is a clear case of collusion between the EFCC chairman and the Heritage MD to misappropriate funds intended for Orogun,” one source claimed. “The recovery for Orogun has effectively been stolen.”
Delayed Invitations and Suspicious Communications
The community’s distrust of the EFCC intensified after an investigator, identified as Mr. Adebowale, contacted petitioners in December 2024 asking them to travel to Abuja. They requested a formal invitation, which eventually came — dated January 10, 2025 — but was reportedly delivered two days late.
One source described the delay as “a red flag.”
Heritage Energy Confirms Payments—But to a Different Community
In a letter dated July 10, 2025, Heritage MD Ado Oseragbaje confirmed a ₦4.1 billion payment to the Uherevie Host Community Development Trust, not to Orogun.He also noted that the EFCC had insisted on the remittance of an additional ₦3 billion outstanding to the ISOTSEJA Host Community Development Trust into an EFCC recovery account.
Oseragbaje added that the EFCC had placed a lien on the already remitted ₦4.1 billion, despite the funds not being part of the Orogun petition.
Growing Outcry and UK Fraud Bureau Notification
By mid-2025, the Orogun community had sent several letters to the EFCC demanding release of the recovered funds. Their lawyers, Patrick Agun & Associates, insist that the ₦4 billion recovery was meant to be lodged in a designated Orogun account opened on EFCC’s instructions.
In a parallel development, petitioner Moses Oddiri took the matter to the UK’s National Fraud & Cyber Crime Reporting Centre, prompting the National Fraud Intelligence Bureau (NFIB) to acknowledge receipt and commence reviews of the allegations.
EFCC Denies Wrongdoing, Accuses Oddiri of Self-interest
In its response, the EFCC rejected all allegations of collusion and misappropriation.
The Commission stated that Oddiri’s claims were driven by “self-interest,” alleging he wanted community funds paid into an NGO he controls — an act the EFCC says would violate the Petroleum Industry Act (PIA) governing Host Community Development Trusts.
According to the EFCC:
Payments were made into the legitimate bank accounts of the two host community trusts.
Delays by defaulting oil companies triggered EFCC intervention.
Funds were disbursed strictly in line with PIA and OPEC guidelines.
“Since the payment was made, Oddiri has been on the offensive against the EFCC and its Executive Chairman that it was not paid into his NGO account,” the Commission said.
Calls for Transparency Continue
Despite the EFCC’s rebuttal, lawyers and community leaders insist the commission has failed to release or publicly account for the alleged ₦4 billion Orogun recovery.
“It has been several months since the funds were recovered,” lawyer Mike Igini stated in a May 26, 2025 letter to the EFCC.“We therefore appreciate if the said recovered funds are released to the concerned indigenes.”
As of the latest communication, Orogun representatives say they are still awaiting a stakeholders’ meeting or official breakdown of account signatories — assurances they say the EFCC chairman personally made but never honoured.
