The Nigerian National Petroleum Company Limited, NNPC Ltd, has commended the National Drug Law Enforcement Agency, NDLEA, for intercepting a truck reportedly found carrying 2,145kg of cannabis concealed in a compartment in Ondo State, even as it distanced itself from ownership of the vehicle.
The Company, in a statement issued on Monday by its Chief Corporate Communications Officer, Andy Odeh, said preliminary checks showed that the truck, with registration number MKA 960 XC, bore markings associated with NNPC but was neither owned by the Company nor part of the official fleet of NNPC or any of its authorised dealers.
It noted that the logo displayed on the vehicle was not consistent with NNPC’s current official branding and that the truck did not appear in the Company’s asset database.
Odeh said NNPC was engaging with the Nigerian Association of Road Transport Owners, NARTO, to obtain further information and establish how the Company’s old branding came to be displayed on the vehicle.
According to the statement, NNPC takes any unauthorised use of its corporate identity seriously, particularly where such use may be linked to unlawful activity, and remains committed to protecting the integrity of its brand, trademarks and other corporate identifiers.
The Company said it would continue to cooperate fully with the NDLEA and other security agencies, and backed a full investigation to establish the facts of the incident, including the vehicle’s ownership, operation, and how NNPC markings came to appear on it.
NNPC added that it was reviewing its brand-protection and asset-monitoring protocols and would take appropriate steps, including legal action where warranted, against anyone found to have misused its corporate identity.
The Company urged members of the public and relevant authorities to verify the ownership or affiliation of vehicles purporting to belong to NNPC through official channels.
It reiterated its commendation of the NDLEA for its vigilance and sustained efforts in combating illicit drug trafficking in Nigeria, and said it remained fully supportive of the ongoing investigation.
