Eromosele Abiodun

The Managing Director of the Nigerian Ports Authority (NPA), Mr. Mohammed Bello-Koko has hit back at those he described as “faceless blackmailers” who have serially taken a dig at him since stepping into the leadership saddle at the agency, saying he would not succumb to their cheap blackmail.

In a statement that he signed, Bello-Koko called the bluff of the interests sponsoring the campaign of calumny against him, even as he warned media houses that henceforth publish unsubstantiated reports against him to get ready for litigation.

In the statement titled: “I Won’t Succumb to Cheap Blackmail,” Bello-Koko said in the past two years, in a desperate bid to defame and extort him, some faceless individuals under the cloak of unknown Civil Society Organisations (CSOs) have resorted to blackmail, using the instrumentality of a section of online media to push through their mischief and blackmail.

He added that having failed in their desperation to dent or hurt his integrity, the blackmailers have resorted to a very cruel campaign of calumny against his person and his family.
The NPA boss noted that because they are faceless, he does not have the opportunity to seek redress in court on the grounds of their rehashed and rehearsed lies.

He reiterated that for all of his years as a banker and a public officer up to date, he has never been indicted or convicted by any court.
Bello-Koko said he was certain that his integrity, as well as dedication and fidelity to the rules of public administration, must have influenced the decision by the Federal Government of Nigeria to promote him from the rank of Executive Director (Finance and Administration) to Chief Executive Officer of the NPA.

The statement read: “In the past two years, in a desperate bid to defame and extort me, some faceless individuals under the cloak of unknown Civil Society Organisations (CSOs) have resorted to blackmail, using the instrumentality of a section of online media to push through their mischief and blackmail.
“Having failed in their desperation to dent or hurt my integrity, they have resorted to a very cruel campaign of calumny against my person and my family.

“Because they are faceless, I don’t have the opportunity to seek redress in court on the grounds of their rehashed and rehearsed lies.

“I need to reiterate that for all of my years as a banker and a public officer up till today, I have never been indicted or convicted by any court. And this fact is in the public domain. I’m also certain that my integrity as well as dedication and fidelity to the rules of public administration must have influenced the decision by the Federal Government of Nigeria to promote me from the rank of Executive Director (Finance and Administration) to Chief Executive Officer of the Nigeria Ports Authority.

“Resorting to writing to the UK Government, seeking visa cancellation and forfeiture of assets belonging to my wife and me, is not only malicious but also cruel and wicked. I have yet to understand why these evil machinations would be orchestrated against me. Is the offence that I committed my acceptance and readiness to serve my country to the best of my ability?

“This latest attack, in the series of sponsored, blackmails targeted at me, which began in 2021 immediately after I was elevated from the position of Executive Director of Finance and Administration to the position of Managing Director of the NPA, is intended not only to damage my reputation but also to embarrass my family.”

“If the Economic and Financial Crimes Commission had been on the matter as indicated in the report, it is then unfair to suggest or claim that some questionable UK/Ireland Investigators are now pushing for an exclusion order to ban me from ever entering the United Kingdom. One expects that there should be inter-agency collaboration in line with some bilateral or mutual agreements.
“All the supposed assertions and innuendos in the report are nothing but spurious and malicious concoctions intended to cause a predetermined damage.”