Jarrett TenebeA Peoples democratic Party gubernatorial candidate in Edo state, Jarrett Tenebe has made a shocking revelation to the Economic and Financial Crimes Commission (EFCC) of how he has been provided cover by senior government officials and top politicians, including Chief Mike Oghiadomhe, a former Chief of Staff to President Goodluck Jonathan, Chief Tony Anenih, Chairman of the Board of Trustees of the Peoples Democratic Party (PDP), and Petroleum Minister, Diezani Alison Madueke.
The EFCC had arrested Tenebe last week for alleged theft of massive amount of crude oil. Tenebe was said to have told the EFCC investigators that his powerful political patrons and protectors enabled him to carry out lucrative crude oil theft from Nigeria under the guise of evacuating stolen crude on behalf of the federal government.
The stolen crude oil was reportedly sold in Ghana.
The suspect came under renewed scrutiny after US investigators informed Nigeria’s law enforcement authorities that several vessels linked to Tenebe’s Fenix Impex Nigeria Limited were involved in the ferrying of stolen crude from Nigeria to Ghana via the Saltpond oil platform in the West African country.
An EFCC source said that the anti-corruption agency arrested Tenebe as a result of the involvement of US investigators, adding that since the suspect’s arrest last week, the EFCC had been under intense pressure from several quarters to muddle up the case in order to set the suspect free.
It is on record that this is the second time Tenebe and his main collaborator have been in trouble this year. Earlier this year, the suspect and Peter Omoh Dunia (aka Peter Black), a close political associate of Tony Anenih in Edo state, were also arrested, but they were able to pull political strings that ensured their release without prosecution.
In March 2014, Nigerian soldiers, who were under the command of Brigadier General Azinta, had arrested Tenebe and Dunia after the soldiers found fraudulent crude oil evacuation contracts in their possession. One Rear Admiral Austin Oyagha of the Nigerian Navy reportedly signed the evacuation documents on behalf of the Nigerian navy.
Following their arrest by the soldiers in Benin City, Tenebe and Dunia were caught red handed when they tried to bribe Brigadier General Azinta, the brigade commander of the Nigerian Army in Benin. Both men were in possession of $65,000, which was meant to bribe General Azinta.
It was gathered that the brigade commander played along with his would-be bribers for some days before arranging their arrest. The army officer handed over the bribe money to investigators as evidence against the two suspects.
However, the brigade commander was told that the suspects would be moved to Bayelsa State and handed over to the Joint Task Force (JTF). The move was part of a design to ensure their smooth release without prosecution.
It was learnt that James Jephthah (aka Octopus), a very close friend of President Goodluck Jonathan, used his access to Aso Rock to obtain approval for the transfer of the case to Bayelsa where he eventually influenced the JTF to release Tenebe.
The EFCC officially had refused to comment on the ongoing investigation of the Saltpond scam but a top official of the agency disclosed that the Minister of Petroleum Resources, Diezani Alison-Madueke, had ordered the agency not to take any action until she return to Abuja.
A source at the EFCC confirmed that Tenebe’s political contacts had helped him to get appointed as an agent who sells crude oil seized from illegal marketers. The source added, however, that Mr. Tenebe’s politically powerful sponsors also arranged for the suspect to lift additional hundreds of thousands of barrels of oil, which he sold at great profit to different European oil dealers using Ghana as the point of sale.
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