By Dapo Akinrefon

FORMER Minister of State for Petroleum Resources, Dr Ibe Kachikwu, has denied media reports that he purchased a stolen vehicle which was smuggled from the United Kingdom to California in the United States.

The former Group Managing Director of Nigeria National Petroleum Corporation, NNPC, described the publication as “maliciously and falsely” portrayed him as a smuggler.

The former Minister, who explained how he recovered his jaguar car which was erroneously impounded by US authorities, denied receiving the sum of N9.7 billion in his bank account.

An online newspaper had claimed that he purchased a stolen vehicle which was smuggled from the UK to California in the US.

The minister, in a letter addressed to publisher of the online media through his counsel, Mike Ozhekome’s Chambers, is seeking N3 billion as compensation and a retraction of the said publication.

He said the online newspaper, in its August 23, 2021, edition claimed that he purchased a stolen vehicle which was smuggled from the UK to US.

The letter reads in part: “The aforementioned publications which were deliberately calculated to do maximum damage to his esteemed person, image and hard-earned goodwill and integrity, falsely alleged that our client smuggled a stolen jaguar car into the US.

“You went further in your baseless, provocative and malicious publication to falsely allege that our client ‘received N9.7 billion in his personal First Bank account which denotes his appetite for luxury good and accommodation’ and portrayed our client as a corrupt, dishonest, dishonourable, unscrupulous, debased and degenerated decadent public officer.”

Kachikwu, said he was inundated with calls, messages and emails from friends and associates from within and outside the country, who expressed worry and concern over the development.

The letter further explained that the former minister had procured a jaguar car from Nigeria and used it for some years after which he sent it as a gift to a relation in the US.

He said: “The US Customs erroneously impounded the car mistaking it as a stolen car and an emission control infringement as cars with European and African emission control specifications cannot be used in the USA.”

He said he made the details of the purchase available to the US authorities, who reached out to the car dealer in Nigeria, and later apologised to him upon which it was released to him and he subsequently brought the car back to Nigeria.

The letter said failure to adhere to the demands within seven days, the former minister would be left with no other option than to seek legal redress.