Irony: Nigerian Police Probes Contracts Splitting Fraud Yet Awards Same To Three Companies Owned By Same Person

Onoja Baba

An investigation by SecretsReporters into federal payment records linked to the Nigeria Police Force (NPF), particularly transactions processed under the Police Formations and Commands account, has uncovered a recurring procurement pattern involving three companies Chumchuks Investment Limited, Oran Global Investment Ltd, and Waves of Fulfilment Ltd which repeatedly appeared as beneficiaries of contracts for fuel supply, dry rations, and operational logistics between 2025 and 2026.

Corporate records reviewed during the investigation indicate that the companies share overlapping ownership and directorship structures, raising questions about vendor concentration and compliance with the competitive procurement principles established under Nigeria’s Public Procurement Act, 2007.

The payment records examined show sustained disbursements across multiple police commands nationwide for operational consumables, including petrol, diesel, packaged food items and field logistics equipment used during security deployments. The transactions were consistently linked to high-security periods such as the Eid-el-Kabir operations in mid-2025, Yuletide policing exercises in December 2025, and Eid al-Adha operations in 2026.

Payment descriptions frequently referenced “special operations,” “patrol logistics,” “covert and overt intelligence support,” and “festival deployment support,” covering supplies ranging from petroleum products to cereals, beverages, canned goods, towels, umbrellas, laptops, printers and shredders.
Rather than an isolated transaction, the financial records reveal a recurring procurement pattern.

In June 2025 alone, during the Eid-el-Kabir security operations, Chumchuks Investment Limited appeared as a beneficiary of multiple command-level payments in Zamfara, Borno, Adamawa and Kebbi States for fuel and ration supplies. Similar entries resurfaced in November 2025 along strategic security corridors, including the Nasarawa Benue axis and the Kaduna–Abuja highway.

By December 2025, procurement records showed a broader geographical spread across South-West and North-West police commands, with both Chumchuks Investment Limited and Oran Global Investment Ltd featuring prominently in contracts involving diesel, petrol and food supplies.

By early 2026, particularly during the Eid al-Adha security operations, additional payments reportedly exceeded ₦60 million for petrol and diesel allocations linked to nationwide “discreet security operations and intelligence logistics.” The recurrence of similar contracts across different police formations within relatively short periods raises questions about procurement consistency, vendor selection processes and whether the applicable competitive procurement procedures were fully observed.

Corporate filings obtained from regulatory databases indicate that the three companies are connected through overlapping directorship and beneficial ownership involving Samuel Chukwudi Oranyendu, Oranyendu Timothy Onyika and Onyekachi Timothy Oranyendu. Although each company is separately incorporated under Nigerian law, the common ownership indicators and similarities in their business activities particularly fuel supply, food provisioning and general logistics suggest the existence of a closely connected supplier network servicing repeated government procurement needs.

Nigeria’s Public Procurement Act, 2007 requires government procurement to be guided by transparency, accountability, competition and value for money. Except under narrowly defined emergency circumstances, contracts above prescribed thresholds are expected to undergo competitive bidding. Even where emergency procurement is invoked, procurement experts note that agencies are still required to maintain adequate documentation, justify supplier selection and verify contract delivery.

Against this backdrop, the concentration of multiple procurement awards among a cluster of related companies across different commands and geographical locations raises governance questions regarding compliance with those statutory safeguards. Procurement specialists often regard such procurement patterns as risk indicators that merit audit scrutiny, particularly where there is limited publicly available evidence of open competitive bidding or tender advertisements.

Why it is wrong

Another area attracting attention is the possibility of contract fragmentation, where similar procurements are split into multiple smaller awards across different units or timeframes. While decentralized procurement may be operationally necessary within security institutions, it can also reduce oversight if procurement activities are not centrally monitored and audited. The pattern observed in the reviewed fuel and ration procurements reflects repeated purchases executed across several commands during overlapping operational periods.

The investigation also highlights concerns surrounding related-party procurement. Although Nigerian law does not automatically prohibit government contracts involving related corporate entities, procurement standards require adequate disclosure of beneficial ownership and effective safeguards against conflicts of interest. International public procurement frameworks similarly emphasise the need to prevent repeated concentration of public contracts within interconnected corporate structures without demonstrable competitive justification.

What is the actual price?

Fuel procurement remains one of the most sensitive areas of security expenditure, particularly following the deregulation of Nigeria’s downstream petroleum sector. Throughout 2025 and 2026, petrol and diesel prices experienced significant fluctuations. However, because the payment records reviewed did not include publicly available unit pricing, procurement benchmarks or delivery verification reports, an independent assessment of value for money could not be undertaken.

Similarly, procurement of dry rations and packaged food items including cereals, beverages, canned goods and field supplies would ordinarily require documented demand assessments, supplier comparisons and evidence confirming delivery to end users. While such procurements are common during security deployments, compliance with procurement procedures remains essential to ensuring accountability.

The Nigeria Police Force has, over the years, faced public scrutiny regarding procurement practices during elections, festive deployments and internal security operations. Governance advocates have consistently called for stronger oversight and greater transparency, particularly in emergency procurement processes where operational urgency may reduce competitive safeguards.