The Nigerians in Diaspora Groups has praised President Bola Tinubu and the Chief Executive Officer (CEO) of the Nigerian Upstream Petroleum Regulatory Commission (NUPRC), Gbenga Komolafe, for their transformative leadership and commitment to transparency in Nigeria’s oil and gas sector.

In a statement issued on Monday, David Matthew Akpambu, Global President of the Nigerians in Diaspora Groups, commended the 2024 Oil Block Licensing Round, conducted in full compliance with the Petroleum Industry Act (PIA) and NUPRC Guidelines.

This groundbreaking process, they noted, marked a major milestone in the nation’s quest to rid the sector of corruption and mismanagement.

Emphasizing the significant strides made, the groups highlighted the transparent, digital nature of the bidding process.

“For the first time in Nigeria’s history, the oil and gas sector witnessed a fully digital and point-based commercial bid evaluation, ensuring a competitive and fair allocation of assets. This digital approach, underpinned by encryption and decryption technology, provided an unprecedented level of security and integrity, ensuring that data remained confidential and free from human interference,” the statement reads.

“This reform is a testament to the leadership of President Tinubu and the proactive vision of Gbenga Komolafe. The 2024 Licensing Round was transparent, competitive, and a clear departure from previous practices that have often been tainted with allegations of corruption.”

The groups also applauded the stringent prequalification process, which demanded that applicants demonstrate not only financial strength but also technical expertise.

“The rigorous criteria were designed to ensure that only qualified entities could proceed to the subsequent stages, ultimately safeguarding Nigeria’s oil and gas assets from mismanagement,” the statement added.

“The commercial bid phase, which took place in full public view, was another highlight of the process. The transparent evaluation system, which was broadcast live, involved representatives from key agencies such as the Nigerian Extractive Industry Transparency Initiative (NEITI) and the Federal Ministry of Finance, ensuring the process was open and accountable. With outcomes determined instantaneously, the digital process eliminated any possibility of human interference or manipulation.”

They also emphasized the importance of the involvement of well-established industry players, noting that this model ensured that even newly incorporated entities could compete fairly, provided they were supported by reputable stakeholders with proven operational experience.

The groups reiterated its support for the leadership of Tinubu and Komolafe, recognizing the significant steps taken towards a transparent and efficient oil and gas sector.

The diaspora groups stressed that it had been monitoring Komolafe’s activities since his appointment, and found him consistent in delivering on the promises he made to the country.

“During his Senate screening, Mr. Komolafe made a commitment to the nation: to establish a 21st-century regulator and position NUPRC as the leading upstream regulatory body on the African continent,” they declared.

“Today, that vision is not just alive—it has been achieved. Nigeria now ranks as having the best upstream regulator in Africa in terms of best practices, a feat acknowledged by stakeholders at several international energy summits.”

They called on other government agencies to adopt similar reforms in other critical sectors to further drive Nigeria’s economic growth and attract foreign investments.

Transparency Network in Nigeria (TNN) has come to the defence of Gbenga Komolafe, Chief Executive of the Nigerian Upstream Petroleum Regulatory Commission (NUPRC), over allegations of bias and irregularities in the recently concluded 2024 oil block licensing round.

In a statement on Sunday, the country representative of TNN, Dr. Mustapha Jibrin, described the exercise as “the most transparent and technologically advanced in Nigeria’s oil and gas licensing history,” adding that any suggestion of human interference was both “unfounded and ignorant of the facts.”

Dr. Jibrin said the group had been monitoring Komolafe’s activities since his appointment Chief Executive of the commission, and found him consistent in delivering on the promises he made to the country.

“During his Senate screening, Mr. Komolafe made a commitment to the nation: to establish a 21st-century regulator and position NUPRC as the leading upstream regulatory body on the African continent,” Dr. Jibrin recalled.

“Today, that vision is not just alive—it has been achieved. Nigeria now ranks as having the best upstream regulator in Africa in terms of best practices, a feat acknowledged by stakeholders at several international energy summits.”

The group said the entire licensing process was executed in a manner that left no room for manipulation or favouritism. He noted that independent monitors were present during the entire process.

“Those peddling insinuations of bribery or backdoor dealings in this licensing round have clearly failed to grasp the rigorous, technology-driven framework that underpinned every stage of the process,” Dr. Jibrin said.

“The commercial bid evaluation was conducted using a transparent, digital, and point-based assessment system, which included the following parameters: Signature Bonus, Proposed Work Programme Financial Commitments, and Work Performance Security. A computer-based competitive bidding process was adopted, leveraging encryption and decryption technology to ensure data integrity and confidentiality.

“This was televised live for full transparency, open to the public, and conducted in the presence of representatives from relevant entities such as the Nigerian Extractive Industry Transparency Initiative, Federal Ministry of Finance, and Federal Ministry of Petroleum Resources and acknowledged by all as being transparent.

“Assertions of corrupt practices and insinuations of monetary exchanges reflect a lack of understanding, as the sophisticated digital process eliminated any possibility of human interference. With outcomes determined instantaneously and transparently in full public view, there was no conceivable need for inducements or undue influence.”

He also reiterated that the entire process was fully aligned with statutory requirements, adding that qualification was based solely on merit.

“The 2024 Licensing Round was conducted in strict compliance with the Petroleum Industry Act (PIA) and the Nigerian Upstream Petroleum Regulatory Commission (NUPRC) Guidelines, ensuring a transparent, competitive, and technology-driven allocation process,” he said.

“The technical and financial capability of a bidding entity is not solely determined by the date of incorporation of the Special Purpose Vehicle (SPV) used for bidding. Instead, it is assessed based on the expertise, financial strength, and track record of the stakeholders, affiliated entities, or parent companies backing the SPV,” he explained.

According to TNN, the licensing round created equal opportunity for serious investors while maintaining high industry standards.

“In Nigeria’s 70-year history of oil exploration, this is the first time a bidding licensing round was done in an open and transparent manner, leveraging technology, thereby removing any form of human interference and making it devoid of corrupt practices.

“Komolafe and his team have done what no other regulatory team has accomplished in decades — they’ve restored public confidence in licensing. These kinds of allegations only distract from the reforms Nigerians have long demanded,” Dr. Jibrin concluded.

Kabir Adamu, who was fired by the Nigerian Intelligence Agency (NIA) for helping German technological giant Siemens AG pay millions of Euros as bribe money to top Nigerian government officials to influence the award of juicy power and telecommunications contracts, is now Nigeria’s top security and intelligence consultant, Pointblanknews investigations have revealed.
In November 2010, the Economic and Financial Crimes Commission (EFCC) arraigned Siemens AG alongside four Nigerian civil servants allegedly involved in a $17.5 million bribery scandal. The suspects were alleged to have between 2002 and 2006 accepted financial gratification in excess of 17.5 million euros from Siemens in a bid to influence the award of power and communication contracts.

The four persons were a former Director of the Power Holding Company of Nigeria, PHCN, Maigada Shuaibu, former Chief Executive Officer of M-Tel, Edwin Moore Momife, ex-General Manager of Finance in NITEL, Emmanuel Chukwuemeka Ossai and a former Permanent Secretary in the Federal Ministry of Power and Steel, Mahmood Sadiq Mohammed.

Shortly after, Siemens agreed to pay the Nigerian government the sum of N7 billion as penal fines in return for the discontinuation of the criminal charges instituted against the company by the EFCC.

The Nigerian case wasn’t an isolated one. Around the world – from Bangladesh, Vietnam, Russia, and Mexico to Greece, Norway and Iraq – Siemens paid bribes to government officials and civil servants to help the company secure huge contracts.

The bubble burst for Siemens following a 2006 raid on the company headquarters by the German police. Following the US and German prosecutions, Siemens paid more than $1.6 billion in fines, penalties and disgorgement of profits, including $800 million to US authorities – the largest monetary sanction ever imposed in a case under America’s Foreign Corruption Practice Act since it was passed in 1977.

Back to the Nigerian scandal. Investigations revealed that in the early 2000s, Kabir Adamu, an officer of the Nigerian Intelligence Agency (NIA), was routinely posted to the Nigerian embassy in Berlin, Germany. It was while serving there that he met Siemens officials who were scouring for middlemen to influence the award of power and communications contracts in their home countries. They found an ally in Adamu, the new NIA officer on Berlin.

Siemens sources disclosed that Adamu got over 750,000 Euros to facilitate meetings between their officials and those of the Nigerian government. Overnight, he became one of the richest Nigerians in Germany.

Pointblanknews.com checks revealed that Adamu’s sudden and inexplicable wealth became a source of worry to his colleagues at the Nigerian embassy in Berlin. So much so that it attracted the attention of their boss at the Ministry of Foreign Affairs, Ambassador Ahmed Magaji. However, at the time, nobody at the embassy could point to the source of Adamu’s sudden wealth, sources explained.

“When Ambassador Magaji, who passed on last October, tried to investigate how Adamu, a middle-cadre security operative came about the kind of money he was spending in Germany and in Nigeria, the young officer called his bluff.

“He boasted to his colleagues in the NIA that he wouldn’t respond to the query from Ambassador Magaji, and that heavens would not fall. That he had made enough money to last a lifetime, and cared less about their ‘nonsensical NIA and Nigeria.’

“When the National Security Adviser (NSA) (at the time), General Aliyu Gusau, tried to investigate reports on why such a relatively young officer in the intelligence service would be so unruly, Adamu didn’t budge. At this point, the NIA fired him,” offered impeccable NIA sources.

Former officials of Siemens who spoke to Pointblanknews.com on the matter, expressed surprise that no mention of Adamu was made in the course of investigating the scandal in Europe and in Nigeria.

“That the guy was able to elude investigators in Germany and Nigeria suggests that he must be very good at covering his tracks. More shocking is that he is now said to be the most respected and influential security and intelligence expert and consultant in West Africa,” one former Siemens official told Pointblanknews.com.

Upon returning to Nigeria, Adamu, in 2013, founded Beacon Security and Intelligence Limited, which he calls “a Nigerian-owned security risk management and intelligence consulting company.”

According to the former spy, Beacon Security and Intelligence Limited “has been providing bespoke security intelligence, security risk management, and training to a range of clients.”

These clients, according to Beacon Security’s website, include British Council, Malaria Consortium, Frontline AIDS, Adam Smith International, and Concentric Advisors.

Also on the list are Irish-owned construction company PW Nigeria Ltd., UKAid, E-Health Africa, FSS Group, GIZ, and Federal Ministry of Humanitarian Affairs and Disaster Management, among other organizations.

Investigations also revealed that Beacon Security and Intelligence Limited renders security consultancy for many super- rich Nigerians and expatriates.

Beacon’s founder, Kabir Adamu has, since insecurity spiked in 2015, been modeled by the Nigerian media as a security expert. Television and radio stations literally fall on themselves to get him on their shows. He has also won several awards on security.

SOLUTION OR PROBLEM?

Recently, however, there have been growing concerns in security circles on the activities and operations of

Beacon Security and Intelligence Limited, and the claim of its founder to being a security expert.

“To begin with, Kabir Adamu spent a large part of his training in the NIA which deals with external or foreign intelligence. The Nigeria Police Force and Department of State Services deal with internal security. It’s only in Nigeria can a dismissed officer of the NIA parade himself as an expert in the internet security challenges of Nigeria,” offered a retired Commissioner of Police.

“Even as a retired COMPOL, it is not all of my colleagues that can claim to be experts on security issues. For instance, an Infantry Colonel in the Army, who, though a trained military officer, is not trained to confront pirates at sea. That is the job of a Navy officer. That is, how it works. Even the DG of NIA cannot handle internal threats in Sokoto or in Anambra, because he’s not trained to do so,” he explained.

“It is sickening to see this retired or dismissed NIA operative talking everyday on television about military and DSS operations around the country. And you guys in the media are egging him on, dressing him in the borrowed robes of a security expert,” lamented the retired police officer, stressing, “this is wrong.”

A senior military intelligence officer disclosed that they had strong reasons to believe that Beacon Security Limited may have been deliberately manipulating security reports to create panic and swell it’s clientele.

He quoted two recent posts by the company on it’s X handle.

The first, posted on Wednesday, read “From threat detection to recovery support, @BeaconNg delivers unmatched pre- & post-incident intel. We forecast risks, guide response, and help after crises. We turn intel into action. Partner with @BeaconNg to stay informed, prepared & secure. Intel that works b4 & after impact.”

On Thursday, @BeaconNg posted this more incendiary message:

“Our communities are bleeding while politics takes center stage. It’s time to prioritize Public Safety Over Politics across Nigeria’s 774 LGAs. Security isn’t a campaign promise It is a human right. We must demand action, not slogans. Safe schools, roads, and farms can’t wait.”

The officer in the counterterrorism unit of the Nigerian police questioned the appropriateness of allowing a dismissed officer of any of the security agencies have a say in the security analysis of the same country.

He said, “if you examine recent reports of Beacon Security on insecurity, you’ll discover that it is not in consonance with the reports we are getting from other security agencies. The figures in Beacon’s reports are usually so inflated- some times as much as four times what is on ground.

“More worrying is that Kabir Usman, who owns Beacon Security, is a key member of Nigeria’s Presidential Priority Data for National Security. This shouldn’t be, more so, as it is obvious that he has a bone to pick with the NIA that dismissed him. Sociologists call this role conflict. Legal experts call it conflict of interest.

“I don’t know how he found his way into such a critical committee. I think that happened under the Buhari administration. There is an urgent need to review the situation in order to avert a situation where one man will control our entire security architecture,” the police officer declared.