In the wake of intensifying public discourse, EFCC Chairman Ola Olukoyede has publicly discredited a recent media report accusing him of influencing the resignation of NNPCL’s top executive, Bayo Ojulari.
The contentious article accused Olukoyede and DSS Director General Adeola Ajayi of compelling Ojulari to relinquish his position during an unpublicized meeting in Abuja. The report also alleged that Ojulari was scrutinized for having links to Olatimbo Ayinde, an oil mogul of British-Nigerian descent believed to be highly influential in government circles.
The report’s chain of claims included a subsequent summoning of Ojulari to the Presidential Villa, where First Lady Senator Remi Tinubu was said to have objected to his resignation.
On Wednesday, Olukoyede, through his legal counsel and the EFCC’s official spokesperson, Dele Oyewale, demanded a retraction and characterized the claims as severely damaging. “The publications and the imputations conveyed by them are so damning and cannot be ignored or treated with levity,” the lawyer’s letter read.
He refuted the claim that he was under the sway of Ayinde, dismissing it as a fabrication aimed at undermining public trust in the EFCC’s leadership.
Olukoyede’s legal team, led by Adeyinka Olumide-Fusika, SAN, wrote to the editor of the outlet demanding a full withdrawal of the report, a public apology, and deletion of the story from all digital platforms.
“He, therefore, 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,” the letter affirmed.
The statement added that portraying Olukoyede as a pawn of Ayinde was not only baseless but also slanderous. “The report attempted to portray him as someone that has betrayed and subverted public trust,” Oyewale added.
The EFCC Chairman has issued a two-day deadline for compliance, failing which he has threatened to proceed with a defamation lawsuit. “Any failure of compliance with these instructions will result in the issuance of a writ in the tort of defamation,” the statement concluded.