Chad’s anti-corruption authority has accused security agents of detaining and assaulting a team of inspectors while they were investigating the management of the country’s state-owned oil company.
The Independent Authority for the Fight Against Corruption, known as AILC, said its inspectors were conducting an examination of the Chadian Hydrocarbons Company (SHT), focusing on the management of its financial, material and human resources from 2024 to the present.
As part of the investigation, the team requested documents including invoices covering sales of SHT crude oil. The authority said the records were needed to determine whether oil revenues had been fully and accurately reported and whether transactions complied with the law.
According to the AILC, senior SHT officials, including the director general, deputy director general and commercial director, refused to hand over the requested documents despite legal requirements obliging institutions under investigation to provide access to relevant records.
The confrontation escalated after the head of Chad’s National State Security Agency, ANSE, arrived at SHT headquarters accompanied by masked and heavily armed security personnel, the anti-corruption authority said.
AILC alleged that its deputy controller general, director general of investigations and oversight, inspectors and assistants were handcuffed, hooded and assaulted before being taken to ANSE offices.
The officials were held for several hours, while their mobile phones and computers were seized and searched, according to the statement.
AILC said its deputy controller general attempted to explain that the inspection was being carried out under the authority’s legal mandate, but the intervention continued.
SHT and ANSE did not immediately respond to requests for comment on the allegations.
Despite the incident, the anti-corruption authority said it would continue its investigation into SHT, saying the inquiry was aimed at establishing how Chad’s petroleum resources have been managed and determining whether any individuals should be held legally responsible.
Oil remains one of Chad’s most important sources of government revenue, making oversight of the sector a politically and economically sensitive issue.