EFCC frisks Atlantic Energy boss over multi-billion naira fraud

The Chairman of Atlantic Energy Drilling Concepts Nigeria Limited, Jide Omokore was on Tuesday arrested by operatives of the Economic and Financial Crimes Commission over an alleged shady deals running into billions of naira.National Daily gathered Omokore company; Atlantic Energy in 2012 paid $168 million into the government’s account instead of $350 million which was the value of the three million barrels lifted. Similarly, into 2013, the company also lifted 2 million barrels of crude valued at $240 million but only paid $68 million.

It was also gathered that one of Omokore’s companies, SPOG is also being investigated by the office of the Attorney General of the Federation in another N400 million petrol import fraud. The company allegedly imported 3,000 metric tonnes of PMS but filed a claim for subsidy payment of 13,000 metric tonnes with the petroleum Product Regulatory Agency, therefore pocketing N400 million more than it should have been paid.

Also, Seven Energy Limited, which owns Septa Energy Nigeria Limited, one of the business interests of Mr. Omokore, was also awarded the concession of OML 4, 38, and 41 towards the end of Mrs. Allison-Madueke’s tenure as petroleum minister.

Another company in the complex web of companies chaired by Mr. Omokore, Seven Energy, is partly owned by Energy Resources Management Limited, indicted in the import waiver scandal.
A Daily Trust report of December 2010 revealed that Energy Resources imported 250,000 metric tonnes of rice into the country without paying a kobo in import duties, levies, ECOWAS Trade Liberalisation Scheme (ETLS), Comprehensive Import Scheme (CISS) and other levies because of the waiver it allegedly got from the presidency.

Fivatek Nigeria Limited, a wholly-owned subsidiary of Energy Resources Group, was also involved in the controversy-ridden National Fertilizer Company (NAFCON) before it was sold.

Mr. Omokore was alleged to have colluded with Sunny Essien, a former managing director of NAFCON and others, to funnel ₦10million into former President Olusegun Obasanjo’s campaign account, largely through the company’s account domiciled with the Abuja branch of the defunct Trade Bank.

He is believed to have been indicted by the judicial commission of enquiry, which looked into the finances of NAFCON.

Atlantic Energy, it was gathered had not produced a droplet of oil, but was awarded controlling stakes in two lucrative oil blocks- OML 30 and 34 by former Petroleum Minister, Diezani Alison-Madueke for a paltry sum of $50 million each.

It would be recalled that Omokore was sometimes in October, 2015 arrested by the EFFCC and later released on bail over allegations of money laundering and conspiracy to siphon billions of naira in fraudulent oil industry contracts while Diezani Alison-Madueke was minister.