By Ibekimi Oriamaja
NLNG Commando Arrests Macobarb CEO, Transports Him From PHC To Abuja Force CID Over Alleged Contract Scam
The contractor accused them of earning money through deception.
Shedrack Ogboru, the indigenous contractor who accused Nigeria Liquefied Natural Gas (NLNG) and its top officials, has been arrested and moved from Port Harcourt to Abuja.
By 7 a.m. on Friday, a truckload of armed policemen led by two officers from Force CID in Abuja had apprehended their CEO, according to a Macobarb official who called from London.
Since its contract was terminated in 2014, Macobarb has been at odds with the NLNG. Macobarb claims that the NLNG violated the contract’s terms and allegedly hampered the job’s prosecution by continuous payment denials, which he claims violates the contract’s requirements.
Macobarb filed criminal accusations against NLNG’s then-MD, Tony Attah, and the head of legal, Akachukwu Nwokedi, alleging that they misrepresented contract conditions in order to collect value from Macobarb.
A Port Harcourt Chief Magistrate’s Court ordered Rivers State police to investigate and report on the complaint. The police began the procedure but abruptly stopped it. The action was withdrawn on March 15, 2022, due to the failure to deliver a report despite a court order.
Macobarb allegedly petitioned the Inspector General of Police, who allegedly ordered the Rivers command to obey the court’s decision. The CEO of Macobarb was then arrested for alleged perjury or lying under oath.
Macobarb’s lawyers in Aba and Port Harcourt are said to be enraged, wondering why the NLNG or its officials would arrest their client on perjury charges when the police had yet to investigate whether the NLNG, Attah, and/or Nwokedi duped Macobarb into supplying goods and services without full payment. According to insiders, intimidation was used to calm the contractor and, most likely, to avoid payment, which had increased to almost N3.5 billion.
Due to the upcoming long holidays, it is unclear whether the Macobarb CEO is still imprisoned in Abuja. Calls to the London source had not been returned by Saturday. His attorneys were also unavailable at the time of publication. According to some untrustworthy accounts, he was later released in Abuja.
