Dow Jones Reports On Warrant Search; No Mention Of Rep. Jefferson

Rumors on the message boards this morning that the ERHC warrant concerned only Rep. William Jefferson were not confirmed by a Dow Jones story out this morning, which says only what the company said in its Friday press release about last Thursday's service of a search warrant at the company's Houston, Texas headquarters.

Here is the Dow Jones story:

WASHINGTON (Dow Jones)--ERHC Energy Inc. (ERHE) disclosed Friday that it received a search warrant from a Texas court seeking information related to the company's relationships in Sao Tome and Nigeria.

According to a document filed by the independent oil and gas company with the Securities and Exchange Commission, the U.S. District Court of the Southern District of Texas, Houston Division, executed the search warrant Thursday.

ERHC, based in Houston, said the court sought various records including documents related to correspondence with foreign governmental officials or entities.

The company said it cooperated fully with the government regarding this matter.

The filing didn't provide further information.

According to a Wall Street Journal article in March, Sao Tome's attorney general singled out ERHC for special scrutiny in an investigation, alleging it may have provided bribes to hold on to longstanding exploration rights it won in the late 1990s.

Sao Tome's attorney general forwarded the report to Nigerian authorities and to the SEC and the U.S. Justice Department.

ERHC shares trade on the OTC Bulletin Board, but its majority shareholder is a Nigerian oil concern.

-By Chad Clinton, Dow Jones Newswires; 202-862-1349;
chad.clinton@dowjones.com


(END) Dow Jones Newswires

05-05-06 0757ET

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