The Chairman of the Economic and Financial Crimes Commission (EFCC), Ola Olukoyede, has denied a report alleging that he abducted and forced the Chief Executive Officer of the Nigerian National Petroleum Company Limited (NNPCL), Bayo Ojulari, to resign.

In a statement issued on Wednesday by the EFCC’s spokesman, Dele Oyewale, Olukoyede faulted the publication by online portal People’s Gazette, which claimed he coerced Ojulari into resigning in Abuja.

Describing the story as false and damaging, the EFCC chairman demanded a retraction from the medium, along with a public apology within 48 hours.

Though Ojulari’s resignation has been the subject of speculation, neither the NNPCL, the presidency, nor Ojulari himself has issued any official confirmation.

Meanwhile, Ojulari appeared publicly on Monday at a Society of Petroleum Engineers event in Lagos, where he urged Africa to develop bankable energy projects to ensure a sustainable energy future.

Reacting to the publication, Olukoyede called it uncharitable and said it portrayed him as someone who had “betrayed and subverted public trust”, Channels TV reports.

His lawyer, Adeyinka Olumide-Fusika (SAN), also responded formally to the media outlet. The legal complaint stated that “the publications and the imputations conveyed by them are so damning and cannot be ignored or treated with levity.”

The EFCC chairman, through his lawyer, demanded that the medium: “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.”

Olumide-Fusika further warned that failure to comply would result in a lawsuit for defamation:

“Any failure of compliance with his instructions would result in the issuance of a writ in the tort of defamation to allow you to prove what your disparagement of my client’s character and reputation, especially in the way of the office he holds as Chairman of the Economic and Financial Crimes Commission”, he added.

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