Firm, CEO Deny Fraud Claims, Demand Retraction

Excel Optoelectronics Company Limited and its chief executive officer, Amb. Emmanuel Shoon Patrick, have rejected allegations of fraud and financial impropriety contained in recent media reports, describing them as misleading, unverified and damaging to their reputation.

In a detailed right of reply issued in response to publications dated December 16, 2025 and February 5, 2026, the company faulted reports claiming that the Federal Competition and Consumer Protection Commission (FCCPC) had referred Excel LED and Amb Patrick to the inspector-general of police (IGP) over alleged diversion of funds linked to airport LED installation projects.

The reports had alleged that payments meant for corporate accounts were diverted into personal accounts, resulting in tax evasion, non-performance of contracts and delays in airport LED upgrades nationwide.

They further suggested possible investigations by the Economic and Financial Crimes Commission (EFCC) and portrayed Amb Patrick as a local intermediary facilitating questionable transactions between a Chinese firm and Nigerian concessionaires.

However, Excel Optoelectronics described the claims as a misrepresentation of a private commercial dispute, insisting that neither it nor its CEO engaged in criminal conduct.

The company accused several media platforms of breaching basic journalistic ethics by publishing serious allegations without seeking its response, noting that this violated constitutional provisions on fair hearing and the Nigerian Union of Journalists’ Code of Ethics.

Excel Optoelectronics also alleged editorial bias, stating that while the accuser’s identity was shielded, its CEO was fully named and portrayed in criminal terms.

The company claimed the reports were triggered by a business disagreement and amplified through media platforms linked to an interested party, amounting to what it described as “trial by media.”