Senate gives NIA DG, Rufai Abubakar seven days ultimatum to appear at plenary

The Senate Committee on Ethics Privileges and Public Petition has given the Director-General of Nigeria’s National Intelligence Agency, Ahmed Rufai Abubakar, a seven-day ultimatum to appear before it over his office directive to the Department of State Service to place a Nigerian activist on the security watch list.

The NIA DG, based on the strength of a petition in his possession, directed the Director-General of the DSS, Mr Yusuf Magaji Bichi, to blacklist a Niger Delta environmental rights activist based in the Netherlands, Mr Sunny Ofehe.

The yet-to-be-identified petitioners had alleged in their letter that Ofehe was indulging in fraudulent activities by using the name of the Shell Petroleum Development Company (SPDC) to defraud unsuspecting people both in Nigeria and in the Netherlands.

The Chairman of the Senate panel, Senator Ayo Akinyelure, has therefore directed Abubakar, to appear before the committee and explain within seven days, why the rights activist was still being blacklisted since 2009 despite the fact that no criminal case had been established against him.

The Lawyers to Ofehe, led by Mr Frank Tietie, had informed the panel that neither the NIA nor the DSS had instituted criminal action against Ofehe in any court of law since it got the petition about 13 years ago.

“The DSS, based on the directive from the office of the NIA, blacklisted my client thereby subjecting him to terrible harassment and ridicule by security agencies at Nigeria’s international borders since 2009.

“My client is based in the Netherlands and he has been coming and going out of Nigeria since he was blacklisted. Yet, no security agency had arrested and prosecuted him in any court of law because they know that the allegations against him were fabricated falsehoods.

“The faceless petitioner is attacking my client because he is a renowned global environmental rights activist who is exposing the false claims of the Anglo-Dutch oil firm in the Niger Delta region.

“This is highly unfortunate because the development had denied Nigeria, many investment opportunities because genuine investors from the Netherlands being brought to the country by my client had on many occasions, embarrassed by the security agencies at the point of entry. My client, therefore, had no option than to petition the Senate to seek justice and make the DSS remove his name for its security watch list,” he said.

The representative of the NIA was not at the session but a director with the DSS, who did not disclose his name, admitted that the right activist was blacklisted on June 3, 2009, following a directive, backed by a petition, to it by the NSA.

The DSS Director said the petitioners alleged that Ofehe swindled both the Dutch and Nigeria citizens.

He maintained that the security agency did not go beyond its limit in blacklisting Ofehe.

Senators Opeyemi Bamidele, Chukwuka Utazi, and Sam Egwu, faulted the submission of the DSS and wondered why it had yet to charge him to Court despite coming and going out of Nigeria since 2009.

The panel members, therefore, resolved that the NSA should appear before them next week with concrete facts on the allegations.

They maintained that Ofehe did not appear to be a criminal as being alleged by the petitioners because he has a good working relationship with the Dutch government.

Specifically, Senator Utazi explained how Ofehe was well acknowledged by the government of the Netherlands when the committee members visited the country some time ago, to carry out oversight functions.

The panel chairman said, “The NIA should within the next seven days give concrete evidence against Ofehe or the Senate Committee on Ethics Privileges and Public Petition, will have no option than direct the DSS to delete his name from the blacklist, if nothing was established to justify the DSS action.” (Nigerian Tribune)