POLICE DECLARE MANHUNT FOR HEYDEN OIL BOSS DAPO ABIODUN OVER N594M FRAUD

Dapo Abiodun

The Police Special Fraud Unit (SFU) has declared a manhunt for the Chief Executive of Heyden Petroleum, Mr Dapo Abiodun over a N594 million fraud allegedly committed by the oil marketer as part of on-going investigations into the controversial fuel subsidy payments.

Spokeswoman of the Police Fraud unit, Mrs Ngozi Agu-Isintume who confirmed the probe when contacted on the phone today explained that the investigation was based on a petition submitted against the oil marketer by a civil society group, Coalition Against Corrupt Leaders, CACOL. “We have received a petition in that regard and we will look into it”, she disclosed when called to confirm the probe. Findings reveal that the ruling PDP government may be after Mr Abiodun for using the platform of the party to partake in the fuel subsidy bazaar only to dump same recently for the APC on which platform he is now seeking to contest the Ogun East senatorial seat election against a former governor of Ogun state, Otunba Gbenga Daniel who is favoured to pick the PDP ticket for the race.

Briefing journalists on the petition, Executive Chairman of CACOL, Mr Debo Adeniran said “our group which is a civil-society, community-based non-governmental organization with the objective of fighting corruption and corrupt persons by any means possible at all levels in Nigeria has monitored the fuel subsidy fraud saga from 2012 till date and we have discovered that out of about 25 oil marketers indicted by the federal government, only Mr Dapo Abiodun of Heyden Petroleum has not been made to refund the N594 million he fraudulently received from government, hence the need to get the police to visit the case and unravel how he has been able to escape from the searchlight of our law enforcement agencies.”

While commending the Commissioner of Police in charge of the PSFU “for your modest achievements since you assumed office as the CP in charge of SFU”, the group said “it is particularly happy that a few corrupt public officials and fraudsters who hitherto saw themselves as untouchables have not only been touched but prosecuted through the efforts of your unit. We are sure more could still be done to record monumental achievements if you will partner with other organizations like ours, which are committed to the same goal of ridding our society of bad eggs.”

The petitioner further said “It is against this backdrop that we draw your attention to and call for your urgent investigation of a fraud of N594 million allegedly perpetrated by one Mr Dapo Abiodun who is the Chief Executive Officer of Heyden Petroleum. From the information available to us, Mr Abiodun committed the fraud under the controversial fuel subsidy regime of the present federal government.

“It is on record that the federal government through the federal ministry of finance indicted 25 oil marketing firms for defrauding the government of a whooping N408 billion in fictitious subsidy claims. The indictment was contained in a statement by the Minister of Finance, Dr Ngozi Okonjo-Iweala through her Senior Special Assistant (Communications), Mr Paul Nwabuikwu on Wednesday August 22, 2012.

“Surprisingly, from our findings, virtually all the indicted companies have either been made to make refunds or are being prosecuted by the law enforcement agencies, yet no one has deemed it fit to question Mr Abiodun and his Heyden Petroleum.

“As a result, we are compelled by patriotic zeal to urge you to deploy your team of professional investigators to unravel how the huge sum of N594 million would have gone to an individual’s pocket and the same person is still walking the streets free despite a documented public indictment by the federal government.

We are counting on you to do the needful in this regard in the interest of Nigeria’s economy and the suffering poor masses.”