Pressure mounts on Chief of Naval Staff to resign over oil theft allegations by activists

A coalition of five groups under the umbrella of the Middle Belt Pan-Nigerian Forum has called for the resignation of the Chief of Naval Staff, Vice Admiral Emmanuel Ogalla.

The coalition, through its spokesperson, Dr. Danladi Ceceko Dangana, stated that the Naval Chief’s continued stay in office may impede the investigation into his alleged involvement in crude theft, contract splitting, and other corrupt practices.

The allegations against the Naval Chief were first brought to light by Concerned Nigerians, a coalition of Civil Society Organizations with prominent activists and lawyers, Barrister Pelumi Olajengbesi, Esq, Comrade Deji Adeyanju, Comrade Mohammed Suleiman SK, Barrister Aisha Waliki, Esq and Comrade Ogunwoye Samson, in a petition to the president through the Ministry of Defence.

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Dangana said: ”The timing of these allegations is concerning, as Nigeria’s economy has been facing challenges since the administration of President Bola Ahmed Tinubu assumed power.

”We, therefore, appeal to the federal government, led by President Tinubu, to take immediate action and ensure a thorough investigation into the alleged activities of the corrupt Naval Chief. Further delay could cause irreparable damage to the country’s crude oil resources.

”We are particularly alarmed by the Naval Chief’s response to the allegations, as he dismissed them as being solely based on an exclusive news report from a media platform.

People’s Gazette, an online platform, had accused the Naval chief of facilitating a loosely coordinated bunkering of Nigerian crude, as well as multibillion-naira contract-splitting fraud and other corrupt activities.

The newspaper estimated that the Naval Chief had accepted bribes totaling over $170 million in the past six months alone.

In light of the allegations, the coalition called on President Bola Tinubu to ”act fast against the corrupt and incompetent Naval Chief in order to tame the theft of Nigeria’s crude oil.”