Oil swap deals: Aiteo, Ontario CEOs risk arrest as House of Reps praises Taleveras for honouring invitation

Following the refusal of two trading companies involved in crude oil swap arrangement of the Nigerian National Petroleum Corporation (NNPC) to appear at an investigative hearing, the House of Representatives has threatened to issue bench warrant of arrest against the chief executives of the two companies.
Aiteo Nigeria Ltd and Ontario Nigeria Ltd were in contract with the Petroleum Products Marketing Company (PPMC) to return refined products in exchange for 30,000 barrels of crude oil from PPMC through Duke oil, a subsidiary of NNPC.
The chief executives of the two firms, however, failed to appear before the Zakari Mohammed-led ad-hoc committee investigating it on Thursday.
Instead, a counsel, Chika Onyebuchi Uko, was sent to represent Aiteo.
She told the committee that her clients would not appear because there was a case against the sitting of the Committee.
“My clients will not appear because there is a case in court against this sitting. For my clients to come and make presentation would be prejudice. My clients will not come until that case is dispensed with”, she told the committee.
When the Committee asked her to present a copy of a restraining order against the investigation, Uko could not.
Chairman of the Committee told her the futility of that move, saying that the House was constitutionally empowered to embark on such investigations.
Saying that it was unpatriotic to attempt to turn investigations aimed at exposing corruptions, Mohammed said: “It is clear that you are misleading your clients from your presentation.
“Is it because of the money you want to make by jettisoning due process? As a legal practitioner, you know these steps you are taking is wrong.
“Ask your chief executives to appear within 48 hours and if they fail to appear, bench warrant of arrest would be used against them,” he said and banged the gavel.
At a briefing, Mohammed said: “Two companies that were in contract with Duke Oil, Aiteo and Ontario appeared before us through their counsel that the hearing cannot continue.
“We, however, made it clear that we are constitutionally empowered to do this. We also made it clear that the Chief Executives of the two companies must appear before the Committee
“We have formally summoned them to appear by next Tuesday and if they fail to do that, by Wednesday, we will inform the IGP to effect the bench warrant of arrest on the chief executives of the two firms.
“We have the bench warrant already. This is a national assignment and we cannot allow it to be derailed, we are serious with the assignment given us by the House”.
On the fate of the third trading firm, Taleveras Nigeria Ltd, Mohammed said the company complied with invitations.
He added: “Taleveras have been coming since the commencement of the hearing. They were here today as well but went to the former hearing room but before we left the new hearing room, their Representatives met us.
“They will be taken on Tuesday.
“We were supposed to have taken them today but unfortunately, they didn’t turn up and a summon has gone out to Ontario and Aiteo to appear before the committee
“Failure of which by Wednesday next week, the Inspector General of Police would be directed to effect their arrest and produce them before us”.
Mohammed said the committee will begin the investigation of marketers soon.
He said: “By way of getting back, we have started our assignment and taken on a number of agencies. We are to dovetail and zero in on the marketers. According to the PPMC which deals with product marketing, most of the swap activities were carried out by oil marketers.”