The Department of State Services and its Director-General, Mr Adeola Ajayi, have demanded an immediate retraction and public apology from an online news outlet over a publication alleging the abduction and forced resignation of Bayo Ojulari as head of the Nigerian National Petroleum Company Limited.
Also, a statement on Wednesday by the Economic and Financial Crimes Commission’s Head of Media and Publicity, Dele Oyewale, said its Executive Chairman, Ola Olukoyede, through his lawyer, Adeyinka Olumide-Fusika (SAN), described the allegations as false, defamatory, and damaging to his personal and professional reputation and demanded a retraction.
The DSS demand, contained in a letter dated August 6, 2025, and signed by Mr. Ayodeji Adedipe (SAN), legal counsel to the DSS and its Director-General, followed the publication titled: “EFCC, SSS abduct NNPC BOSS Bayo Ojulari, force him to sign resignation letter after directive from Bola Tinubu’s paramour Olatimbo Ayinde,” published on August 2, 2025.
According to the letter, the publication, which included photographs of Mr Ajayi, EFCC Chairman, Mr Olukoyede, and a woman identified as Olatimbo Ajayi, alleged that Mr Ojulari was abducted and coerced into resigning by security officials acting on a directive from a close associate of the President.
The legal team described the report as “totally false, unfounded, libellous,” and accused the outlet of portraying the DSS and its Director-General as tools of political intimidation.
“Our clients have been grievously maligned and injured in their integrity and character by your baseless and unfounded publication,” the letter stated, adding that the story lacked balance and relied on “questionable and contrived” sources.
“The DSS and its Director-General are demanding: An immediate retraction of the publication from all platforms.
“An unreserved apology on the same platforms where the story was originally published.”
The letter warned that failure to meet the demands within 48 hours would lead to civil and criminal legal action without further notice, citing relevant provisions of Nigeria’s Cybercrimes Act.
“Please note that, should you fail to comply with the above demands within a period of 48 hours from the delivery of this letter to you, we shall, on behalf of our clients, seek redress against you and your newspaper outfit through civil and criminal actions, as your conduct is actionable per se, just as it is a criminal offence under the provisions of the Nigeria’s Cybercrimes (Prohibition, Prevention, etc) Act, 2015, [as amended]. Be informed that these legal actions shall be taken against you and your outfit without further reference to you.”
Also, the EFCC chairman, according to a statement on Wednesday, specifically rejected the insinuation that he acted under the influence of a British-Nigerian oil businesswoman alleged to wield influence in the current administration.
In a letter addressed to the Editor and signed by Olumide-Fusika (SAN), Olukoyede stressed that the publications and the imputations conveyed by them were so damning and could not be ignored or treated with levity.
He, therefore, demanded that the medium “acknowledge your wrongdoing, expressly admit that what you published and imputed against my client are false, apologise for it unreservedly and retract and pull down the stories from your newspaper website and social media handles.”
He said the report attempted to portray him as “someone who has betrayed and subverted public trust by submitting the authority of his public office and trust as chairman of the EFCC to the dictates and directives of one Olatimbo Ayinde.”
Describing the story as a fabrication, Olukoyede demanded a public apology and the retraction of the publication from both the website and social media platforms of the news outlet within 48 hours.
Olukoyede’s legal team also warned that failure to comply would result in legal action.
“Any failure of compliance with these instructions will result in the issuance of a writ in the tort of defamation,” the letter stated.
