The Department of State Services (DSS) has apprehended Kennedy Tabukoi for allegedly leading an unregistered Non-Governmental Organisation (NGO), the Niger Delta Development Initiative (NDDI), to blackmail high-profile government officials.
Security sources revealed that Tabukoi, who falsely presented himself as a leader of a legitimate activist group, used threats and manipulation to extort money and contracts from government officials. According to insiders, when government officials failed to meet his demands, Tabukoi orchestrated protests by unsuspecting groups, falsely claiming that federal lawmakers were attempting to obstruct a petroleum sector probe.
One such protest occurred Thursday morning outside the National Assembly, where Tabukoi led various groups to rally against the supposed interference in the probe. Unbeknownst to Tabukoi, the DSS had been monitoring his activities after receiving reports from government officials who had been targeted by his blackmail attempts.
The reports alleged that Tabukoi threatened officials with public embarrassment unless they paid large sums of money or awarded him contracts. Sources close to the investigation disclosed that Tabukoi had been boasting to friends and members of his syndicate about his ability to manipulate government officials, using his self-proclaimed activist status to demand bribes. “He had been claiming that as a Niger Deltan activist, he could use his NGO to intimidate officials who refused to comply with his demands,” the source explained.
Tabukoi’s scheme unraveled when members of his network tipped off the DSS, revealing that his NGO was a façade and that he had been impersonating a legitimate civil society leader. During his interrogation, Tabukoi admitted to using his supposed activism as a cover for his extortion efforts, claiming he was in the process of raising funds to formally register his NGO.
