KEY POINTS
- EFCC orders ex-NNPC boss Mele Kyari to report daily as probe into $2.5bn refinery funds nears conclusion.
- Investigators frozen ₦661m in Kyari’s bank accounts while sifting through years of refinery contracts and payments.
- Despite $18bn spent since 2010, Nigeria’s state refineries remain dormant, raising questions of massive mismanagement.
The Economic and Financial Crimes Commission (EFCC) has stepped up its investigation into former Nigerian National Petroleum Corporation (NNPC) Group Managing Director Mele Kyari, directing him to report daily at its Abuja headquarters as detectives move closer to filing charges in court.
Kyari, alongside other former NNPC executives and contractors, is under scrutiny for billions of dollars allegedly sunk into refinery rehabilitation projects that remain stalled.
Investigators say about $2.5 billion was disbursed under his watch for turn-around maintenance (TAM) of the Port Harcourt, Kaduna, and Warri refineries—none of which has come back to life.
Investigators sift through mountains of documents as refinery ‘rehabilitation’ costs top $18 billion with little to show
The EFCC has already frozen N661 million found across four of Kyari’s bank accounts following a court order last month.
Sources close to the probe say the sheer volume of documents and contractor records being reviewed necessitates Kyari’s daily appearance, both to clarify discrepancies and to confirm or deny claims made by others.
“We have isolated issues for him to respond to, documents to verify, and contractors to cross-check,” one investigator told The Nation. “This is essentially the final lap before charges are filed.”
Former refinery managing directors, general managers, and contractors have reportedly been questioned. Officials say Kyari’s input will help fill “gaps” that will shape the case in court.
The figures involved are staggering: $1.55 billion was reportedly allocated to Port Harcourt Refinery, $740.6 million to Kaduna, and $656.9 million to Warri—all under Kyari’s tenure.
Yet, despite over $18 billion spent on Nigeria’s four state-owned refineries since 2010, they remain largely dormant, forcing the country to rely on imported fuel.
Kyari, for his part, insists he has “nothing to hide.” He has also pointed to Federal Executive Council-approved contracts, including a $497 million “quick-fix” awarded to Daewoo Engineering in 2022 for Warri Refinery, as evidence that spending followed due process.
Still, critics note that TAM has long been a sinkhole for public funds, with the Kaduna refinery alone swallowing more than ₦2.2 billion in rehabilitation costs over the past decade without producing a single barrel.
Unless fresh evidence emerges, officials say charges against Kyari and others could be filed soon. “It will be left to them to prove their innocence in court,” one investigator remarked.
