The palace of the Olu of Warri has dismissed a claim by Asari Dokubo that His Majesty Ogiame Atuwatse III, CFR, receives ₦2.7 trillion annually from pipeline surveillance contracts, challenging him to provide evidence to support the allegation.
The palace stated its position in a press release dated Tuesday, October 6, 2026, seen by Apples Bite. The statement was signed by Prince Collins Oritsetimeyin Edema, Sole Representative of the Olu of Warri to NNPC Limited and its Joint Venture partners.
The palace said the allegation was too serious to overlook because of its potential impact on “the reputation of the Olu of Warri” and the “strategic importance of pipeline surveillance to the Nigerian state.” It therefore said the claim required a clear and public response.
“For the avoidance of doubt,” the statement said, “the allegation that the Olu of Warri receives ₦2.7 trillion annually from pipeline surveillance contracts is categorically rejected.”
The palace further challenged Dokubo, stating: “We challenge Mr. Dokubo to produce the documentary evidence upon which this extraordinary claim is based.”
The statement also addressed Dokubo’s public profile and political history, saying his latest remarks “cannot be divorced entirely from the persona he has cultivated over several decades.” It described his political identity as having been “forged in an era of militancy and armed agitation in the Niger Delta.”
According to the palace, Dokubo’s public statements are “frequently categorical, provocative and insufficiently restrained.” While acknowledging that such an approach “may command attention,” it stressed that “attention should not be confused with credibility, and forcefulness should not be mistaken for evidence.”
The palace argued that someone with Dokubo’s background should distinguish clearly between an allegation, an inference based on other information and an established fact.
It also explained why pipeline surveillance contracts are particularly sensitive. The statement said they “are not ordinary commercial arrangements,” describing Nigeria’s oil and gas pipelines as “a critical national asset.” Their protection, it noted, has implications for crude oil production, government revenue, foreign exchange earnings and overall economic stability.
The palace therefore said pipeline surveillance “sits at the intersection of commercial interest, energy security and national security,” making the awarding and execution of such contracts a matter deserving “particularly rigorous scrutiny.”
It added that “the higher the national-security implications, the higher the evidentiary threshold should be.”
The palace further warned that unverified allegations involving the Olu of Warri, Pipeline Infrastructure Nigeria Limited (PINL), Tompolo and other stakeholders could have wider consequences in the Niger Delta, particularly amid existing ethnic sensitivities.
It said “loose or unguarded assertions can have consequences beyond the immediate argument,” adding that such comments “can reinforce suspicions, revive old grievances and provide ammunition for people who would rather interpret every disagreement through an ethnic lens.”
On the region’s complex history, the statement noted that the Warri question “involves communities with long and complicated histories of grievance and competition.” It added that “Ijaw, Itsekiri and Urhobo relations require responsible leadership, not rhetoric that can easily be interpreted as provocation.”
The palace also questioned what it described as changes in Dokubo’s position on Tompolo, recalling that he had previously criticised Tompolo over pipeline security arrangements and the broader Gbaramatu-Itsekiri dispute, before later defending him and directing allegations elsewhere.
However, the statement acknowledged that such changes “do not, by themselves, prove bad faith,” noting that “political positions can change.” It nevertheless said the public could reasonably ask what prompted the change, what evidence supports the new position and whether the latest comments are motivated by principle, politics, personal alliances or a combination of factors.
The palace said Nigerians should not automatically dismiss everything Dokubo says because of his militant past, describing such an approach as “intellectually lazy.” At the same time, it argued that his reputation as “a fierce Niger Delta voice” should not give his allegations “automatic credibility.”
Instead, it maintained that his claims “must stand or fall on the quality of the evidence supporting them.”
The statement urged that any concerns about pipeline security arrangements should be examined through contracts, procurement records, company documents, government approvals, performance reports and regulatory records. Where allegations of wrongdoing exist, it said, the appropriate institutions should investigate and establish the facts.
Summing up its position, the palace stated: “Whoever makes the allegation should provide the evidence. Whoever is accused should have the opportunity to respond.”
The statement also recalled the region’s history of conflict, saying the Niger Delta “has paid a heavy price for politics conducted through confrontation and inflammatory rhetoric.” It warned that it would be “deeply unfortunate” if inflammatory rhetoric revived ethnic tensions that stakeholders have been working to prevent.
“The central question, therefore, is not whether Asari Dokubo can command attention,” the statement said. “He plainly can. The question is whether the substance of what he is saying can survive independent scrutiny.”
The palace concluded that pipeline security “is ultimately about more than contracts,” arguing that it involves protecting national assets, sustaining economic activity and securing an important part of Nigeria’s economy.
That responsibility, it said, “demands facts, accountability and institutional oversight, not inflammatory rhetoric, ethnic suspicion or the force of individual personalities.”
