By Valentine Amanze, Online Editor
A federal court in Abuja has ordered the arrest of the head of oil major, ExxonMobil in Nigeria, Richard Laing, to compel him to appear before anti-graft investigators.
The Economic and Financial Crimes Commission (EFCC) said on Wednesday that it had sought the warrant after Laing, the managing director of ExxonMobil Nigeria, rebuffed three invitations to appear before investigators probing alleged procurement fraud involving a pipelines project.
Justice Okon Abang granted the EFCC’s bench warrant application on January 29, 2021.
The EFCC also disclosed that it was yet to charge Exxon or others with wrongdoing, stressing that its investigation was ongoing.
EFCC spokesman Wilson Uwujaren had told Reuters that the investigation was into the company, and not Laing personally.
“EFCC invited them in the course of the investigation but they have refused to honour the invitation; that is why we went to court to compel his appearance for investigation,” Uwujaren said.
A spokesman for Exxon declined to comment, while Laing did not immediately respond to a request for comment, according to Reuters.
The EFCC said that the investigation related to the alleged fraudulent creation of procurement orders worth more than $213 million as part of a pipelines project.
Last year, Nigeria suspended EFCC head, Ibrahim Magu, after the attorney general accused the agency of diverting funds that had been recovered during investigations into graft.