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Tinubu Aides Accused of $1.5m Bribe to Secure Ojulari Access

Sources allege Tinubu’s CSO and Chief PSO took $1.5m to grant NNPCL boss access to Aso Rock: EFCC detains associate; power and corruption questions spike.

Atlantic Post

August 17, 2025

5–7 minutes

Aso Rock, Bayo Ojulari, Bribery, Corruption, EFCC, Fasasi, Investigative, NNPC, Shugaba, Tinubu

Tinubu Villa in Turmoil: CSO Fasasi and Chief PSO Shugaba Allegedly Took $1.5m to Buy Ojulari Access — EFCC Probe Deepens

A scandal that reads like a lesson on how access is trafficked for money at the highest level has once again focused on President Bola Ahmed Tinubu’s inner sanctum. According to today’s shocking accusations, which were initially reported by SaharaReporters, the President’s Chief Security Officer (CSO), Lukman Adegboyega Fasasi, and his Chief Personal Security Officer (CP/PSO), Usman Musa Shugaba, allegedly accepted a payment of US$1.5 million to arrange a private meeting between Mr. President and Bashir Bayo Ojulari, the beleaguered Group Chief Executive Officer of the Nigerian National Petroleum Company Limited (NNPCL).

If accurate, the charge would highlight a systemic decay in the gatekeeping layer surrounding the presidency, where pay-for-access, favouritism, and patronage replace formal protocol. It is more than just a tawdry villa anecdote.

According to SaharaReporters, the money was given to Ojulari’s close friend Abdullahi Bashir-Haske, who is commonly referred to as “Bashir-Haske” and has since been taken into custody by the Economic and Financial Crimes Commission (EFCC).

Investigations into transfers linked to AA&R Investment Group, a business that reported to Haske, are said to have been conducted. Haske allegedly implicated the Presidential security aides in the purported pay-off while being questioned.

The story lands amid a much bigger storm already swirling around the NNPCL boss. Multiple outlets and civil society coalitions have pointed to alleged irregularities involving tens of millions of dollars in questionable transactions, with demands that Ojulari be sacked or investigated further.

Among the claims now in the public domain are references to a purported US$21 million scandal and allegations of consultancy and retreat expenses that ought to alarm any administration claiming a zero-tolerance stance on corruption.

Beyond the single meeting: patterns that worry the nation
What makes the new allegations especially combustible is the pattern of prior questions about Fasasi’s conduct. In October 2024 the Department of State Services (DSS) reportedly redeployed Fasasi; yet, according to reports at the time, he resisted leaving Aso Rock and continued to exercise influence and control over access, allegedly with the backing of powerful governors and other patrons.

That episode was widely covered and cited concerns that gatekeepers at the Villa had become a parallel power centre able to open and shut the President’s doors to suit private interests.

Corruption experts will tell you that access is itself a currency. In regimes where the Presidency is the epicentre of patronage, those who decide who sees the leader can become untouchable brokers — and, crucially, a conduit through which illicit funds and political favours flow.

If security officers, whose vocation is protection, are monetising access, the risks are two-fold: not only is the President’s discretion for sale, but national security protocols can be undermined when screening and vetting processes are corrupted.

EFCC’s detention of Haske — the unravel starts in custody
According to reporting, the EFCC’s detention of Abdullahi Bashir-Haske preceded the revelation of the alleged payout. Investigators reportedly discovered transfers into Haske’s accounts and, during questioning, allegedly obtained confessions linking certain funds to Ojulari and the Villa security aides.

If the EFCC’s lines of inquiry corroborate these claims, the implications are immediate and severe: criminal conspiracy to bribe public officers; money-laundering linkages between private entities and a state corporation; and institutional capture at the seat of power.

Multiple recent reports confirm Haske’s detention and the widening probe.

A presidency on the defensive — what the Tinubu camp must answer
So far, the Presidency and the DSS have been, at best, muted in public. There are familiar nods to due process and suggestions that internal channels are engaged, but the optics are growing darker by the hour.

The Presidency’s silence or slow-footed responses in high-profile graft allegations feeds a public narrative that accountability mechanisms are selective.

For an administration that campaigned on reform and “Renewed Hope”, the charges, if substantiated, would represent a grievous betrayal of public trust.

Why the public should care (and what should happen next)
This is not merely palace intrigue. The NNPCL sits at the core of Nigeria’s fiscal lifeblood. Mismanagement or looting at the national oil company translates quickly to lost revenue for health, education and infrastructure.

The allegation that NNPCL funds might have been channelled, directly or indirectly, to politicking or pay-for-access schemes should mobilise both the EFCC and independent parliamentary oversight mechanisms to full investigation mode.

A credible path forward would include:
• Immediate public clarification from the Presidency and the DSS on the status of Fasasi and Shugaba’s Villa access and clear statements on any internal disciplinary action.

• Full cooperation from the Presidency with the EFCC, including making available logs, access records and visitor manifests for the relevant dates cited.

• Parliamentary summons for EFCC, DSS and the NNPCL to testify under oath and present documentary evidence — bank transfers, Villa access cards issued, CCTV or visitor logs.

• An independent audit of NNPCL transactions linked to AA&R Investment Group and related entities, overseen by the Auditor-General or an external, credible auditor.

Comparative context: this is not new — but it can be stopped
Nigeria’s oil sector has a long and troubled history of corruption and opaque contracting. Past episodes, from alleged subsidy frauds to high-profile ransacking of NNPC coffers during previous administrations, established patterns that successive governments promised to break.

Those promises remain hollow unless systems replace personalities: transparent procurement, audit trails, and prosecutorial follow-through.

Recent outrage from civil society demanding Ojulari’s removal echoes similar calls that surfaced during earlier scandals when public pressure was the only reliable check on impunity.

A final note on risk and responsibility
The stakes are national. If verified, the purported $1.5 million pay-for-access deal would be more than just a corrupt event; it would be an example of how internal corruption can undermine government.

President Tinubu faces a difficult decision: either use state institutions as a weapon to avoid scrutiny and further delegitimise the company, or embrace transparency and demonstrate that his administration will not allow a pay-to-see system to thrive within Aso Rock.

The Atlantic Post will seek documentary proof, visitor logs, and bank records related to the claims in the days ahead. Copies of any documents that can be verified will be published in a follow-up.

The Nigerian people, as well as foreign allies keeping an eye on the fiscal integrity and governance of Africa’s biggest oil producer, deserve prompt, open responses.