The Economic and Financial Crimes Commission (EFCC) has received a petition from a coalition of lawyers and civil society groups against the former Group Chief Executive Officer of the Nigerian National Petroleum Company Limited (NNPCL), Mele Kyari.
The petition, submitted on Friday, follows recent protests by the “Concerned Citizens Against Corruption” at the Federal Ministry of Justice in Abuja, where demonstrators called for a thorough probe into Kyari’s leadership and NNPCL’s transactions over the past five years.
Similarly, on Wednesday, another group of lawyers under the banner of “Guardians of Democracy and Rule of Law” marched to the Ministry of Justice to formally petition the Attorney General of the Federation (AGF). Following this, the group also submitted a parallel petition to the EFCC.
Receiving the petition on behalf of the EFCC chairman, Ola Olukoyede, the commission’s spokesman, Dele Oyewale, assured the petitioners that the issues raised would be thoroughly investigated.
“The issues raised in the petition will be looked into and addressed,” Oyewale stated.
The petition accuses Kyari of monumental fraud, tax evasion, economic sabotage, and abuse of office during his tenure from July 2019 to February 2025.
Led by Asika Raymond, the Guardians of Democracy and Rule of Law alleged that Kyari, in collusion with certain contractors and consultants, inflated the costs of refinery rehabilitation projects, notably the Port Harcourt Refinery, where $1.5 billion was allegedly spent despite an initial $1 billion estimate for the rehabilitation of three refineries.
The petition also highlights allegations of crude oil diversion, opaque financial transactions under the guise of “pipeline security” at a suspicious rate of 80,000 barrels per day, and irregularities in the $5 billion AKK Gas Pipeline Project.
Further concerns were raised regarding fuel subsidy fraud during the COVID-19 pandemic when NNPCL reportedly increased petroleum imports, contrary to global trends of reduced fuel consumption.
The petition questions the transparency of crude-backed loans worth $21.565 billion secured by NNPCL since 2019, alleging that the terms were unfavorable to Nigeria, ceding financial benefits to oil traders.
Kyari is also accused of authorizing massive, undocumented spending on oil exploration projects without clear feasibility studies or demonstrated economic returns.
The lawyers urged the EFCC to conduct a forensic audit of all payments made to consultants and contractors from 2019 to 2025, recover misappropriated funds, and collaborate with the Federal Inland Revenue Service (FIRS) to investigate suspected cases of tax evasion.
