By Ogochukwu Isioma
A group of lawyers and civil society organizations (CSOs) on Friday morning stormed the Economic and Financial Crimes Commission (EFCC) headquarters in Abuja with a petition against Mele Kyari, the former Group Chief Executive Officer of the Nigerian National Petroleum Corporation Limited (NNPCL).
The petition alleged that Kyari perpetrated monumental fraud, tax evasion, economic sabotage, and abuse of office during his tenure from July 2019 to February 2025.
According to the Guardians of Democracy and Rule of Law led by Asika Raymond, Kyari collaborated with certain consultants and contractors to conceal the actual cost of refineries rehabilitation projects and evade taxes due to the Federal Government.
One notable example cited was the Port Harcourt Refinery, where the group alleged that the NNPCL under Kyari’s leadership expended $1.5 billion, despite initial estimates of $1 billion for the three refineries.
The petitioners questioned the transparency and accountability of the payments made to consultants and contractors handling the refineries’ rehabilitation projects.
The petition also alleged that crude oil allocations were diverted and financial transactions were carried out under the guise of “pipeline security” at a suspicious rate of 80,000 barrels per day, with no transparent process or accountability mechanism.
Additionally, the AKK Gas Pipeline Project, initially valued at $5 billion, was said to be riddled with irregularities in contract awards and execution.
Furthermore, the petitioners raised concerns about fuel subsidy fraud, citing repeated allegations of inflated imports and false claims.
They also questioned the value of NNPCL’s crude-backed loans, which totaled $21.565 billion since 2019, with questionable purposes and outcomes.
The petition added: “There is credible information that crude oil allocations were diverted, and financial transactions were carried out under the guise of ‘pipeline security’ at a suspicious rate of 80,000 barrels per day, with no transparent process or accountability mechanism.
“The AKK Pipeline Project, initially valued at $5 billion has been riddled with irregularities in the award and execution of contracts. Despite several budgetary provisions and foreign financing arrangements, there is little physical progress or transparency in fund utilization.
“There have been repeated allegations of fraud tied to the payment of fuel subsidy. It is instructive to note that while the rest of the world witnessed a decline in fuel consumption in 2020 due to COVID, NNPCL increased its imports of petroleum products during the same period.
“Under Mele Kyari, NNPCL took various crude-backed loans which hit $21.565 billion since 2019. Aside from mortgaging future production, the structure of these loans disadvantaged Nigeria as the upside from trading Nigeria’s crude in the international market was ceded to traders.
“The former GCEO also supervised massive spending on oil exploration activities in the aforementioned states. These explorations, allegedly running into several billions of Naira lack proper documentation, feasibility outcomes, or any demonstrable economic returns. ”
The group urged the EFCC to investigate Kyari, forensically audit all payments made to consultants and contractors from 2019 to 2025, recover misappropriated public funds, and collaborate with the Federal Inland Revenue Service (FIRS) to probe suspected tax evasion.
The EFCC spokesman, Dele Oyewale, received the petition on behalf of the Chairman and promised that the Commission will look into it swiftly.
