The Economic and Financial Crimes Commission (EFCC) has launched a probe into the tenure of a former Group Chief Executive Officer of the Nigerian National Petroleum Corporation Limited, Mele Kyari, and other top shots of the NNPCL, both serving and retired, over allegations of corruption and misappropriation of funds.
This was according to its interrogatory correspondence dated April 28, 2025, and sighted by The Eagle Online on Friday.
The anti-graft agency says it is investigating Kyari and other top officials of the organisation, highlighting the need to seek information from the Group managing director’s office.
It requested the NNPCL to provide information regarding the listed officials including those that have retired from the organization.
Others invited according to the letter seen by The Eagle Online, dated April 28, 2025, addressed to the GMD of the NNPCL, others invited by the anti-graft agency for the investigation into “a case of Abuse of Office and Misappropriation of Funds” are Abubakar Lawal Yar’Adua, Isiaka Abdulrazak, Umar Ajiyo, Dikko Ahmed, Ibrahim Ono, and Ademoye Adeniyi Jelili.
Others are Mustapha Magaji Sugungun, Kayode Olusegun Adetokunbo, Efiok Michael Akpan. Babatunde Bakare, Jimoh Olasunkanmi, Bello Kankaya, and Desmond Inyama.
The EFCC said in the letter to the GMD of the NNPCL: “In view of the above, you are kindly requested to furnish certified true copies of their emoluments and allowances, including that of those who have retired and no longer work with your organization.”
The Eagle Online recalls that scores of protesters had stormed the office of the Attorney General of the Federation and Minister of Justice, Lateef Fagbemi (SAN), to demand a probe of Kyari.
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The protesters, who were under the aegis of Concerned Citizens Against Corruption (CCAC), specifically called for an investigation into the company’s transactions over the past five years.
Led by its Convener, Comrade Kabir Matazu, the group said it was disappointed that despite President Bola Tinubu’s removal of Kyari and the entire NNPCL board on April 2, 2025, “no step has been taken to investigate alleged corrupt practices under Kyari’s leadership.”
The group highlighted what it termed as controversy surrounding the rehabilitation and restreaming of government-owned refineries, citing allegations of billions of dollars spent without transparency.
It further pointed out a perplexing situation where NNPCL is reportedly indebted to Matrix Energy to the tune of over $2 billion, with the debt being serviced through daily crude oil allocations
In the same vein, a group of lawyers under the aegis of the Guardians of Democracy and Rule of Law marched to the same office to submit a petition to the Attorney General of the Federation.
The petition called for Kyari’s investigation, arrest, and prosecution on allegations of corruption and misappropriation of funds when he was the Group Chief Executive Officer of NNPCL.
Meanwhile, the lawyers, after their submission of the petition to the AGF, also submitted a similar petition to the EFCC.
The petition alleges that Kyari engaged in monumental fraud, tax evasion, economic sabotage, and abuse of office during his tenure from July 2019 to February 2025.
The Guardians of Democracy and Rule of Law, led by Asika Raymond, states that Kyari colluded with certain consultants and contractors to inflate the actual costs of refinery rehabilitation projects and evade taxes owed to the federal government.
Specifically, the petitioners cited as a notable example the Port Harcourt Refinery, where the group alleges that the NNPCL, under Kyari’s leadership, spent $1.5 billion, despite an initial estimate of $1 billion for the rehabilitation of three refineries.
They questioned the transparency and accountability of payments made to consultants and contractors involved in these projects.
Further allegations include the diversion of crude oil allocations and financial transactions carried out under the guise of “pipeline security” at a suspicious rate of 80,000 barrels per day, without any transparent process or accountability mechanism.
The AKK Gas Pipeline Project, initially valued at $5 billion, is also said to be riddled with irregularities in contract awards and execution.
Additionally, the petition raises concerns about fuel subsidy fraud, citing inflated imports and false claims.
The petition also questions the value of NNPCL’s crude-backed loans, totalling $21.565 billion since 2019, citing unclear purposes and outcomes.
The EFCC spokesman, Dele Oyewale, who received the petition on behalf of the commission’s chairman, Ola Olukoyede, at the EFCC headquarters in Abuja, assured the petitioners that the commission would address the issues raised in the petition.
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