A scholarship programme once advertised as a major opportunity for Bayelsa youths to pursue careers in aviation has now become the subject of a heated legal battle, with claims of failed promises, wrongful detention, damaging media publications and conflicting accounts over what happened after two candidates reportedly passed the selection process.
The dispute centres on Ezekiel Kariyai Daukoru, a Bayelsa-born petroleum engineering undergraduate, who insists that the aviation scholarship promoted by Dr. Eruani Azibapu Godbless, CFR, and the Azikel Group did not deliver the foreign training he said was promised to successful candidates.
Daukoru’s position is that after he emerged as one of only two candidates said to have passed the qualifying examination in 2024, he was not flown abroad for aviation training as he believed the programme had publicly represented. Instead, he claims he and the second successful candidate were moved into an employment arrangement at Azikel’s aviation facility, where they remained for more than a year while waiting for the overseas training to begin.
Azikel Group has rejected any suggestion of wrongdoing. The company insists that the aviation scholarship initiative was genuine, that the beneficiaries received support and training opportunities, and that the candidates later walked away from the programme voluntarily.
Documents, correspondence, public statements and interviews reviewed by Secrets Reporters show that both sides are now locked in sharply opposing narratives before the courts.
The Scholarship Announcement
According to Daukoru, he was a 400-level Petroleum Engineering student at Igbinedion University, Okada, when he came across the aviation scholarship programme linked to Dr. Eruani and Azikel Group.
He said the initiative was presented as a rare chance for talented Bayelsa youths to receive aviation training in the United States, with possible career paths in commercial piloting, airline transport piloting and aircraft engineering.
Daukoru stated that public information around the programme gave the impression that international aviation partners were involved and that candidates who succeeded in the selection process would be processed for overseas training.
He also said the programme was promoted as a major investment running into billions of naira for the future of Bayelsa youths.
Convinced that the opportunity could change the direction of his life and that of his young family, Daukoru said he applied alongside hundreds of other interested candidates.
Two Candidates Said To Have Passed
Daukoru said 776 persons applied for the scholarship, while 155 candidates eventually sat for the examination held at the Federal University, Otuoke, in March 2024.
According to him, candidates were given aviation-related materials to study ahead of the test. The examination, he said, contained 200 questions, with 80 percent set as the pass mark.
He claimed that only two candidates reached the required score: himself and Yebei Ebilate.
After the result, Daukoru said public announcements suggested that visa processing had started and that the successful candidates would soon travel to the United States for the promised training.
Those announcements, he said, created excitement among family members, friends and members of the public who believed the candidates were on their way to begin aviation careers abroad.
From Aviation Scholarship To Work Placement
Daukoru said the matter took a different turn weeks later when he and the other successful candidate were invited to Azikel’s refinery facility in Obunagha.
He claimed they were told that before proceeding for the foreign training, they would first spend six months under a probationary work arrangement.
According to him, both candidates objected because they were still students and had applied for a scholarship, not employment.
Daukoru further claimed they were warned that refusal to accept the arrangement could cost them the scholarship opportunity.
He said they eventually accepted the condition because they did not want to lose what they believed was a life-changing chance to train abroad.
He also stated that employment-related documents were issued to them even though they had not applied for jobs in the company.
Daukoru claimed that he and the second candidate remained in the arrangement for about one year and four months, carrying out administrative and other duties at the aviation facility while still waiting for the overseas training to commence.
In his account, what followed was far removed from the aviation scholarship opportunity that had been presented to the public.
Growing Doubts Over The Foreign Training
As the months passed without the foreign training taking off, Daukoru said he began to question whether the overseas component of the programme would ever happen.
He claimed that inquiries were made to some foreign institutions and organisations said to have been mentioned in connection with the scholarship programme.
According to him, responses received from those organisations deepened his concerns about the representations made during the promotion of the initiative.
These issues have now become part of the wider legal dispute between the parties.
Legal Action And Arrest Claims
Daukoru said he eventually approached the Bayelsa State High Court after concluding that the training opportunity he expected would not be fulfilled.
After the suit was filed, he claimed he became the target of negative media publications that described him as a scammer and extortionist.
He also said a social media post he made was later used as the basis for criminal complaints that led to his arrest and prosecution.
Daukoru claimed he was detained for several months before he was granted bail.
He has also filed separate actions alleging violations of his fundamental rights.
The claims in those cases are still contested.
Azikel Group Denies Wrongdoing
Azikel Group has denied deceiving the candidates or running a fraudulent scholarship programme.
In its public response, the company maintained that the initiative was created to support Bayelsa youths interested in aviation careers.
The company said the selected candidates benefited from financial support and training opportunities while they were part of the programme.
Azikel Group also disputed Daukoru’s account that the successful candidates were misled. Its position is that the candidates voluntarily abandoned opportunities made available to them.
Persons publicly connected to the scholarship initiative have also denied claims that candidates were asked to pay money or that the programme was designed to mislead participants.
What The Courts Must Determine
The central issue before the courts is what exactly was promised to the successful candidates, whether those promises created enforceable obligations, and whether those obligations were fulfilled.
Daukoru’s case is that he relied on the representations made during the scholarship process, adjusted his academic and personal plans, and suffered serious consequences when the foreign training did not materialise.
Azikel Group’s position is that the scholarship programme was legitimate, support was provided, and the candidates chose to walk away from the opportunity.
With legal proceedings now before courts in Bayelsa and Abuja, the final determination will rest not on public statements from either side, but on evidence tested before the judiciary.
For now, a scholarship once celebrated as a bold investment in Bayelsa’s youth has become a bitter courtroom dispute over promise, trust, reputation and accountability.
