A United States-based shipping company has formally petitioned Nigeria’s Inspector-General of Police, alleging that its motor tanker has been unlawfully seized, dismantled, and rendered inoperable following a charter agreement dispute.
NUJENIX Corporation filed the October 21, 2025, petition through its legal representatives at P.O. Onucheyo & Co., accusing multiple individuals and entities of criminal conspiracy, theft, illegal conversion, and issuing death threats. The company also alleged involvement of Nigerian Army personnel in the matter.
The petition names John George Igor, Leonard Kwentua, Okoye Okezie Jude, Oluwagbemiga Ebenezer, Ampliar Resources Ltd, and Ebenco Global Link Ltd as parties connected to the alleged offences.
NUJENIX Corporation is representing the interests of its owner and CEO, Eial Golan Yachiel, an Israeli-American citizen based in the United States.
According to the petition, the Florida-registered MT Thor was transferred to Sub-Sea 9 Ocean Services Ltd through a bareboat charter agreement on January 1, 2021, with Igor identified as the operator. The agreement stipulated biannual payments of $912,500, but Igor allegedly defaulted on the arrangement, remitting only $25,000 in total.
The company claims that after assuming control of the vessel, Igor ceased all communication and issued threats against the owner’s life, stating through the lawyers that “he has threatened that our client will be kidnapped and killed or die mysteriously if he steps his foot on the shores of Nigeria.”
During a press briefing in Abuja, the company’s legal team emphasized that the situation had escalated beyond a commercial disagreement, with armed personnel allegedly being deployed to intimidate parties and obstruct police operations.
“This is not about business again. This is about threats, detention and force,” attorney P.O. Onucheyo stated, adding that law enforcement efforts to make arrests were blocked.
The legal representatives reported that the vessel was eventually located in Koko, Warri, Delta State, where it was allegedly concealed and systematically dismantled under military guard.
“They went and hid the vessel there, and they have been vandalizing it. They butchered it,” Onucheyo claimed, describing the tanker’s current condition as severely deteriorated compared to its original state.
The petition alleges that when Marine Police officers discovered the vessel and attempted to tow it to a secure facility, they were intercepted by a Nigerian Army gunboat reportedly commanded by Lt. Col. Mustsoha Garba, who took custody of the tanker.
NUJENIX Corporation asserts that MT Thor has been stripped of essential navigational and bunker equipment, leaving it completely unseaworthy.
“Right now, the vessel is damaged beyond repair and is no more seaworthy due to the criminal activities of the suspects,” the petition states.
The company has submitted photographic evidence purportedly documenting the vessel’s condition at delivery in January 2021 alongside images of its current state.
Given the alleged threats to life, unlawful detention, and deployment of armed forces, NUJENIX Corporation is requesting immediate action from the Inspector-General of Police.
“We humbly urge and request that the Inspector-General of Police use your good office and intervene so that justice will be served,” the petition concludes.
American Shipping Firm Accuses Nigerian Operators of Vandalizing $900,000 Tanker
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