…4 bank accounts frozen
Former Group Chief Executive Officer of the Nigerian National Petroleum Company Limited (NNPCL), Mele Kyari, yesterday submitted himself to the Economic and Financial Crimes Commission (EFCC) in Abuja, as investigators intensify a $7.2 billion refinery maintenance probe.
Kyari, who arrived at the commission’s headquarters around 2:15 pm, was grilled over alleged fraud and irregularities in multi-billion-dollar turn-around maintenance contracts for Nigeria’s refineries during his tenure.
Sources within the anti-graft agency confirmed that the former oil chief is “with investigators at the moment,” though EFCC spokesperson, Dele Oyewale could not be reached for official comment.
The development follows a Federal High Court order temporarily freezing four bank accounts linked to Kyari, who had earlier been placed on the EFCC’s watchlist.
Kyari, who led the NNPCL from 2019 until July 2024, oversaw the transition of the state oil giant into a limited liability company, but his stewardship is now under scrutiny amid allegations of financial mismanagement in Nigeria’s petroleum sector.
The ongoing probe underscores intensifying pressure on the country’s oil industry and renewed efforts to confront entrenched corruption in the management of national resources.
