Community counters Moses Oddiri, says EFCC didn’t divert OML 30 funds

The Uherevie Communities Development Trust has dismissed claims that funds belonging to host communities in OML 30 were diverted by the Economic and Financial Crimes Commission (EFCC) or its chairman.

The rebuttal comes days after the EFCC also rejected reports alleging that it asked the Department of State Services (DSS) to arrest Moses Oddiri, an activist, over a petition he wrote concerning remittances to host-community accounts in Delta state.

The anti-graft agency described the publication as “a falsehood taken too far”, adding that it only intervened to ensure that the host-community funds were paid and managed under the Petroleum Industry Act (PIA).

The commission said Oddiri had been “pushing for the funds to be paid into his NGO’s account, which is contrary to the PIA”, insisting that no DSS arrest was initiated at its instance.

Corroborating the claims by the EFCC in a statement on Friday, Uherevie Communities Development Trust, through their solicitor, E. J. Etaghene, from Pinnacle Chambers, said Oddiri’s claims that EFCC officials diverted community funds were a “fabrication”.

“The monies meant for the communities are intact in the Uherevie Communities Development Trust account,” the lawyer said.

“The account was not tampered with and was not frozen by the EFCC or any of its officials as wrongly alleged by Mr. Moses Oddiri.”

The Trust stated that Oddiri had earlier petitioned the EFCC, accusing Heritage Energy Services and certain community leaders of diverting OML 30 host-community funds, a petition that triggered the EFCC’s invitation of all stakeholders, including the NNPC and relevant regulatory agencies.

According to the rejoinder, EFCC operatives interviewed those invited and scheduled another session for further engagement, but Oddiri “did not turn up on the last day fixed for further interview and investigation of this matter”.

The Trust claims Oddiri became dissatisfied because the EFCC did not detain the individuals he accused.

“Mr. Moses Oddiri and his cohorts were dissatisfied with the modus operandi of the EFCC because they did not detain those they pointed accusation fingers at,” the letter reads. 

“Moses Oddiri at this point employed his usual blackmailing tactics by raising a false allegation against the Chairman of the EFCC and the agency itself.”

The solicitors alleged that Oddiri’s actions were deliberate and aimed at pressuring community leaders.

“It is obvious that the essence of Moses Oddiri’s petition is to use the EFCC to bring those at the helm of affairs of the community to a negotiation table in order for him and his cohorts to reap where they did not sow,” they said.

They added that the EFCC acted within the law by not arresting or detaining anyone without evidence of wrongdoing.

“The EFCC as an agency cannot arrest, detain and prosecute persons who have not been proved to have committed crimes,” the lawyer said. 

“It would be against the constitutional rights of such citizens who are deemed to be innocent to be arrested and detained when there is no prima facie case.”

The Trust emphasised that Oddiri must provide evidence to back his allegations.

“He who asserts must prove, and the onus is on him to prove how the EFCC withdrew money from the Uherevie Trust account and diverted it to their account or personal use,” the statement added.