Tension As DSS Moves Against Peoples Gazette For Report On NNPCL Chief

The Department of State Services (DSS) has issued a stern warning to Peoples Gazette, threatening both criminal and civil legal action over a report alleging that its Director-General, Adeola Oluwatosin Ajayi, played a role in the purported abduction and forced resignation of Nigerian National Petroleum Company Limited (NNPCL) Group CEO, Bayo Ojulari.....KINDLY READ THE FULL STORY HERE▶

In a letter dated August 5, signed by Senior Advocate of Nigeria Ayodeji Adedipe (SAN) — counsel to the DSS and its DG — the agency described the publication as “libellous and baseless,” accusing it of portraying the DSS as “irresponsible” and its DG as a “political hatchet man.”

The contentious article, published on August 2, claimed that Ojulari was forcibly taken and compelled to resign by Ajayi and Economic and Financial Crimes Commission (EFCC) Chairman, Ola Olukoyede, allegedly on the orders of one Olatimbo Ayinde — described in the report as President Bola Tinubu’s mistress. The piece also published photographs of Ajayi, Olukoyede, and Ayinde, which the DSS says were calculated to tarnish reputations and discredit its leadership.

“Our clients have been grievously maligned and injured in their integrity and character by your unfounded publication,” the letter stated, adding that the DSS has since been bombarded with calls from concerned Nigerians expressing “outrage and disappointment.”

The DSS is demanding the immediate removal of the article from all digital platforms and an unreserved public apology published via the same channels. Failure to comply within 48 hours, the agency warns, will result in legal action — including prosecution under the Cybercrimes (Prohibition, Prevention, etc.) Act, 2015.

“As your conduct is actionable per se, and constitutes a criminal offence under Nigeria’s Cybercrimes Act… our clients shall proceed to seek redress in court without further reference to you,” the letter read.

The EFCC and its Chairman, Ola Olukoyede, have also issued their own demands for a retraction of the same story from Peoples Gazette.