Crude Oil Theft: EFFC Arrest PDP’s candidate Jarrett Tenebe
democratic Party gubernatorial
candidate and a politically well-
connected oil thief arrested by the
EFCC reportedly shocked
investigators by revealing that he
received cover from several senior
government officials and top
politicians, including Mike
Oghiadomhe, ex-Chief of Staff to
President Goodluck Jonathan; Chief
Tony Anenih, chair of PDP board of
trustees and the Petroleum
Minister, Diezani Alison-Madueke.
The EFCC was still holding Mr.
Tenebe after arresting him last week
for alleged theft of massive amounts
of crude oil in Nigeria.
An EFCC source
disclosed that Mr.
Tenebe, who hails
from Edo State, told
investigators that his
powerful political
patrons and
protectors enabled
him to carry out
lucrative crude oil
theft from Nigeria
under the guise of
evacuating stolen
crude on behalf of
the federal
government. Among
the political patrons
are:
Mrs. Alison-Madueke, Oghiadomhe,
Anenih, a close confidant of
President Jonathan, and James
Jephthah.
According to Sahara Reporters, the
stolen crude oil was reportedly sold
in Ghana.
The suspect, Mr. Tenebe, came
under renewed scrutiny after US
investigators informed the Nigeria's
law enforcement authorities that
several vessels linked to Mr.
Tenebe's Fenix Impex Nigeria
Limited were involved in the
ferrying of stolen crude from
Nigeria to Ghana via the Saltpond oil
platform in the West African
country.
EFCC source disclosed that the
agency was able to arrest Mr.
Tenebe only because US
investigators were involved. The
source added that, since the
suspect's arrest last week, the EFCC
had been under intense pressure
from several quarters to muddle up
the case in order to spring the
suspect free.
Our sources revealed that this is the
second time Mr. Tenebe and his
main collaborator have been in
trouble this year. Earlier this year,
the suspect and Peter Omoh Dunia
(aka Peter Black), a close political
associate of Tony Anenih in Edo
state, were also arrested, but they
were able to pull political strings
that ensured their release without
prosecution.
In March 2014, Nigerian soldiers,
who were under the command of
Brigadier General Azinta, had
arrested Mr. Tenebe and Mr. Dunia.
The two men's arrest came after
soldiers found fraudulent crude oil
evacuation contracts in their
possession. One Rear Admiral Austin
Oyagha of the Nigerian Navy
reportedly signed the evacuation
documents on behalf of the Nigerian
navy.
Following their arrest by the soldiers
in Benin City, Mr. Tenebe and Mr.
Dunia were caught red handed when
they tried to bribe Brigadier
General Azinta, the brigade
commander of the Nigerian Army in
Benin. Both men were in possession
of $65,000, which was meant to
bribe General Azinta.
Our EFCC source disclosed that the
brigade commander reportedly
played along with his would-be
bribers for some days before
arranging their arrest. The army
officer handed over the bribe
money to investigators as evidence
against the two suspects.
However, the brigade commander
was told that the suspects would be
moved to Bayelsa State and handed
over to the Joint Task Force (JTF).
The move was part of a design to
ensure their smooth release without
prosecution. One of our sources told
SaharaReporters that James
Jephthah (aka Octopus), a very close
friend of President Goodluck
Jonathan, used his access to Aso
Rock to obtain approval for the
transfer of the case to Bayelsa
where he eventually influenced the
JTF to release Mr. Tenebe.
The EFCC officially declined to
comment on the ongoing
investigation of the Saltpond scam.
However, a top official of the agency
disclosed that the Minister of
Petroleum Resources, Diezani
Alison-Madueke, had ordered the
agency not to take any action until
her return to Abuja. Ms. Alison-
Madueke is currently on a short
vacation in the UK while awaiting the
completion of the multi-million
dollar renovation of her Abuja
mansion.
.
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