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The face-off between the owner of a Petroleum and Marine Services company and some top officials of Rivers state government over alleged illegal sale of a vessel took a different turn recently, after top police officers from force headquarters, Abuja stormed Rivers state capital, Port-Harcourt to interrogate suspected officials that were fingered in the deal.
The senior police officers from Force Criminal Investigations, Department, FCID, Force headquarters, Abuja, acting on stern directives from the Inspector-General of Police, were in the state for three days to interview the top government officials but they reportedly absconded from their respective offices within that period after receiving official information from the police. However, two off them that eventually showed up stated that they were not aware of the sale of the controversial vessel.
The police nonetheless succeeded in arresting the owner of the jetty where the vessel was stolen and later vandalized and six of his workers. They were reportedly flown to Abuja where they were interrogated for hours before being granted bail.
The owner of the vessel, MT Okiki, Dr. Henry Okey Obi had alleged that the top government officials in connivance with some businessmen sold the vessel worth N600 million without his knowledge. But the state government claimed it only carried out the order of a competent court in the sale. Rivers state Attorney General and Commissioner for Justice, Professor Zaccheus Adango said the state government only carried out the order of an Environmental Sanitation Court sitting in Port-Harcourt which ordered the removal of the wreckage of MT Okiki from the waterways.
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He said: “The action was based on the subsisting order of the court and the provisions of the Rivers State Environmental Protection and Management Law3, 2019.
If any act of illegality was committed in the course of implementing the order of the court, those responsible should be held to account. The office of the Attorney-General has not done anything unlawful.”
However, police sources said one of the officials who was grilled for about 10 hours confessed that he did not advertise in any print media or radio House looking for the owner of the vessel, rather it was the owner of Bio-Keff Nig Ltd who told him that the vessel was a wreck, that they needed to sell it since the owner was no more. Sources said he stated unequivocally that he did not go to verify this neither did he inspect the vessel, rather he ordered them to sell it in connivance with a formal commissioner in the state.
According to sources, he also said no money was paid to the Rivers state account and that he didn’t receive any proceeds from the sale. Crime Guard also learned that a lawyer in the ministry said that the top official did not follow due process in selling the vessel and that the court order they got was to first identify wrecks and then go back to court to report so that the court can then give them order to salvage and sell them, but none of these processes was followed prompting the official to ask his police interrogators for mercy and soft landing.
Based on this, according to sources, all the government officials mentioned have been invited to report at the force headquarters, Abuja for further interrogation.
However, sources said that it was not clear whether news of their arrest caused the panic in the camp of the key suspects that are presently on the run. Although these suspects at large are doing everything possible to evade arrest after police has extended invitations to them. The source stated that the Police officers from FCID are closing in on them in their hideout at Okirika.
It was learned that the fleeing suspects masterminded and executed the theft and sale of the vessel, MT Okiki. These individuals, according to sources, have been identified by detectives from Abuja.
When contacted, Deputy Force Public Relations Officer, CSP Adeniran Aremu said investigations into the case was still on-going.