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A businessman, Mr Boniface Okana Okoli who has recently faced accusations of involvement in a scam and illegal business deals has strongly refuted these claims labeling them as baseless and malicious.
Refuting the allegations, Mr Okoli insists that all his business practices are transparent, legal, and aligned with industry standards. He added that the accusations have no merit, emphasizing his commitment to ethical business operations and customer satisfaction.
In response to the allegations as published by an online News Blog ARISE NEWS on March 23, 2025, and Bekwarra Vanguard, a facebook name, the businessman has vowed to pursue legal action against anyone attempting to tarnish his reputation with false claims. Okoli said all the names mentioned in the said publications are strange and unknown to him.
Mr Okoli who was the Director of Finance and Mobilization in the 2024 APC Bekwarra LGA Chairmanship Campaign Council Election, has said that the allegations of fraud against him are merely orchestrated to tarnish his image as his company did not defraud anyone as purported in the malicious publications circulating in the social media.
“As a businessman i do not know anyone called Dominic Okweche, neither have I had any business dealings with him. Similarly, I have neither come in contact with the said Ogar Ogodo or anyone mentioned before. I don’t have any dealings with any of them. The person called MC is my cousin who decided to lie against me that he gave me the sum of Eleven Million Naira (N11m). I only had something with MC which was basically to fence our family land that we reclaimed for the family. I gave MC the task to supervise the fencing which I later ask him if I am owing him for anything then he responded that he spent 11m but that I should give him 10m which I transferred 10m to him without wasting time but I was shocked hearing that he’s also blackmailing me.
“It appears my business rivals are trying to weave unfound fraud allegations around me through cronies. All the fraud allegations against me are untrue. As a businessman I am bound to respect the decency of business engagement. Any other story is pettiness, which I will engage with a full measure of law.”
He further said, “I do not have any business dispute with anyone and i will get to the bottom of this matter eventually.
“It is very clear that there is an orchestration to tarnish my image of and to malign my character. That this is happening now raises a lot of questions and raises many suspicions. It is interesting that only a few months ago i had warned of a plot by my detractors to attack my person.
“I believe in the rule of law and that is why I have not said anything on the matter. People that are discerning, when they hear fake news, they will know it.”
The statement called on the media to always verify its stories before publishing, it stated that “while I am committed to seeing the court process continue against those peddling the falsehood, i call on the Nigerian media, journalists, editors and publishers of both mainstream and online media to always verify stories before going public.
“It is important to seek the views and comments of all affected parties in any matter before publishing, so that there will be balance. It is against all known journalism ethics in any free world to resort to name calling and undue sensational reports without a proper investigation”, the statement reads.
The businessman further said that the allegations are purely the imagination of the purveyors and should be taken with a pinch of salt. He urges investors, clients, and the public to rely on factual information and continue to support his business ventures.
Further investigation by TheLumineNews indicates that Bekwarra Vanguard is a pseudo Facebook page as there is/was no one who had credible information about the publisher as no comments were gotten from Bekwarra Vanguard, the platform that first published the story.
When contacted, one of the supposed victims, Mr Dominic Okweche , refuted the claim of having any business dealing with Mr Boniface Okoli, as he noted that “Thank you very much my brother for reaching out to me. A lots of persons have made similarly call in respect of that story. That story is not true. I did not give Boniface Okoli any money or have done any business with him. Whatever the person behind that wants to achieve, is best known to him/her, and they shouldn’t use my name”.
Efforts by TheLumineNews to reach other two persons alleged to have been defrauded by Boniface Okoli, failed as there was no body to assist with their contact information and phone numbers.
