For most of 2014, Marilyn Ogar, the spokesperson for Nigeria’s secret
police, the State Security Service, SSS, cut out for herself a
controversial portrait of a blunt security official who had no qualms
issuing threats and attacking anyone or institution perceived to be
critical of the Nigerian government.
In the heat of the August 9 Osun State governorship election, won by
the All Progressives Congress, APC, Ms. Ogar alleged links between the
party and bomb attacks, and narrated how SSS officials rebuffed
N14million offered as bribe by an unnamed party – although her
description fit the APC.
“A director in charge of election duties (security) was offered N4
million for himself and N10 million,” Ms. Ogar, a deputy director in the
service, said at a news conference. “It is because the money was
declined, that is why the certain political party is having a running
battle with the DSS.”
She added, “Thank God the APC won the election; its loss could have been blamed on the DSS”, using the service’s alternate name.
Ms. Ogar assured that she and other SSS officials could not be bribed
because the service provides a competitive reward package for its
personnel, even before assignments.
“We are well paid, I will say it
categorically, our operations are well funded. N14 million as against
N200m that was spent, which one will you go for? The federal government
and the people of Nigeria who have engaged us have the capability of
taking care of us.”
Ms. Ogar was lying. Investigations by PREMIUM TIMES have confirmed
the SSS spokesperson received bribe from government officials well ahead
of the Osun election, and was indeed paid millions of naira at least
two months before the polls.
PREMIUM TIMES could not however confirm whether the money was directly tied to the Osun election.
But in June, Ms. Ogar was treated to a special offer the Nigerian
government utilises in appeasing dubious officials who are willing to
play ball, and other Nigerians regarded as troublesome.
Within government circles, the offer, which is a direct allocation of fuel products, is termed “settlement”.
“That is what the government uses if it wants to settle you. If you
are settled once, you are made,” one source told PREMIUM TIMES.
Ms. Ogar was referred to the Pipelines and Products Marketing
Company, PPMC, a subsidiary of the government-run Nigerian National
Petroleum Corporation, NNPC, in charge of marketing and distribution of
petroleum products.
According to elaborate details of the transaction obtained by PREMIUM
TIMES, the PPMC was directed to allocate 10 trucks of DPK (Dual Purpose
Kerosene) to Ms. Ogar.
The SSS spokesperson, accordingly met with
the Managing Director of the company, Haruna Momoh, and the deal was
struck between first and second week in June, this newspaper confirmed.
With little or no previous fuel marketing experience, and more
importantly, without a registered company for that purpose, Mr. Momoh,
who took charge at the PPMC in 2011, suggested the allocations be
channelled through known fuel independent marketers who will receive the
allocation, sell them and deliver cash to Ms. Ogar.
The SSS spokeswoman agreed, and the PPMC selected three marketers to deliver four, three, and three trucks apiece on her behalf.
An agent at the PPMC triggered text messages to the respective
marketers. In one, sent by the coordinator of a private depot in Apapa
Lagos via 08064387579, the firm wrote, “Please be informed management
has approved three trucks of DPK to your company. Kindly make
arrangement for payment. Thank you.”
To finalise the deal, the PPMC introduced Ms. Ogar to the three
marketers and all sides agreed she be paid N1.5 million for each truck
of DPK.
In all, Ms. Ogar was paid N15 million for doing nothing beyond
meeting the PPMC boss having been recommended by the higher authorities
to do so.
Ms. Ogar declined to comment to this story. She did not
answer multiple calls to her by one of our reporters. She is also yet to
reply a text message sent to her seeking comment.
Mr. Momoh too did not answer or return calls. Neither did he respond to a text message sent to him.
Third party bazaar
For the marketers, the deal was not a bad one as they received hundreds of thousands of DPK at N40.90k per litre.
For a 33,000-litre truck, as the average volume of fuel tankers is,
that amounted to N1.345 million in purchase cost for each truck.
To enable them profit, the Nigerian government allowed the marketers
the liberty to sell the fuel at any rate, as high as N120, to raise
their profits after paying Ms. Ogar.
Ms. Ogar’s bazaar was typical of
the rot in the marketing of petroleum products in Nigeria, the most
infamous example being the 2012 fuel subsidy that cost the nation nearly
N3 trillion.
While landing cost of fuel could be as low as N40.90k, registered
marketers buy at far higher price than that, often in excess of N100.
Our investigations showed that the huge differential oils a complex
web of official racket that allows top government officials settle their
cronies, by using them as intermediaries who receive direct fuel
allocations before re-selling to marketers.
The end cost is transferred to Nigerians who buy fuel at far more exorbitant rates.
Ostensibly to cover up the deal, Ms. Ogar and the PPMC chose not to
issue routine documents for the transaction, but conducted most of the
deal through telephone calls and text messages.
Our sources said the June allocation was neither the first nor the last for Ms. Ogar, a claim
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