Abuja, Dec. 16, 2025 – Senior Advocate of Nigeria (SAN) Joe Kyari Gadzama has categorically denied any involvement in the alleged facilitation of the lifting of a court-ordered restriction on OML 40 corporate filings at the Corporate Affairs Commission (CAC).
In a detailed statement, Gadzama rejected claims linking him or any associate to the purported mediation, stressing that he had no business, directly or indirectly, with the CAC Registrar-General or any party connected to the filings. “The suggestion that a ‘mediator linked’ to me facilitated an improper act is a deliberate and wicked fabrication,” he said, underscoring his nearly four decades of legal practice grounded in integrity, transparency, and adherence to the rule of law.
Gadzama highlighted his past role as Chairman of the Body of Benchers Mentorship Committee, a position demanding unimpeachable moral authority and public trust. “To suggest that I would lend my name, or allow any person ‘linked’ to me to lend my name, to an act that undermines a subsisting court order or compromises the integrity of a public institution like the CAC is deeply offensive to everything I stand for,” he stated.
He called for thorough investigations by anti-corruption and law enforcement agencies into the CAC Registrar-General’s conduct, urging that the law be applied if wrongdoing is confirmed.
The controversy surrounds fresh allegations that CAC Registrar-General Ishaq Hussaini Magaji (SAN) quietly lifted a 2023 court-imposed restriction on corporate filings linked to OML 40, an oil-producing asset associated with billionaire businessman Emeka Offor. Sources told SaharaReporters that the restriction had prevented a company linked to OML 40 from implementing board changes or passing corporate resolutions at the CAC. The restriction reportedly remained in place until a leadership change at the Commission.
Shortly after assuming office, Magaji allegedly lifted the restriction without public notice, explanation, or procedural documentation. Insiders say this coincided with sensitive transactions involving Seplat Energy Plc and Starcrest Nigeria Energy Limited, linked through a joint venture controlling OML 40.
OML 40 is operated through Elcrest Exploration and Production Company Limited, a joint venture in which Starcrest Nigeria Energy Limited, part of the Chrome Group owned by Emeka Offor, reportedly controls 55 per cent, while Seplat Energy, through its subsidiary Eland Oil and Gas Limited, holds 45 per cent. The remaining 55 per cent of OML 40 is owned by the Nigerian Petroleum Development Company (NPDC), a subsidiary of the Nigerian National Petroleum Company Limited (NNPCL).
Sources noted that Seplat’s management was suspended in May 2023, and its corporate file blocked at the CAC following the court order. The restriction prevented board changes and filing of key resolutions, reportedly enforced by the former Registrar-General.
The unfolding situation has raised questions about transparency and procedural propriety at the CAC, with public scrutiny intensifying over high-stakes corporate filings linked to Nigeria’s oil and gas sector.
Sub Zero ✔
Godwin Okafor is the Publisher & CEO of Naija247news Media Group LLC, an independent investigative news platform delivering accurate, data-driven reporting on Nigerian and global politics, economy, finance, and business. Founded in October 2010, Naija247news specializes in developmental journalism, providing timely insights and analysis to readers across Nigeria and the diaspora.
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