The immediate past Group Managing Director of the Nigerian National Petroleum Company Limited (NNPCL), Mele Kyari, is currently being interrogated by the Economic and Financial Crimes Commission (EFCC) over alleged financial misconduct during his tenure.
Sources within the anti-graft agency, who spoke on condition of anonymity, confirmed that Kyari is at the EFCC headquarters in Abuja.
“He is here with our investigators at the moment. This is all I can confirm for now,” one of the sources told our correspondent.
Kyari was reportedly invited by the commission to clarify issues surrounding financial transactions that took place while he headed the state-owned oil company.
Efforts to reach EFCC spokesperson, Dele Oyewale, for comments were unsuccessful as of the time of filing this report.
The development comes amid ongoing investigations into alleged irregularities in the management of billions of dollars allocated for the rehabilitation of Nigeria’s refineries.
It will be recalled that Kyari had earlier been placed on the EFCC’s watch list in connection with the controversial $7.2 billion refinery turnaround maintenance project.
In a related development, the Federal High Court in Abuja recently ordered a temporary freezing of four bank accounts linked to the former NNPCL boss, pending further investigations into fraud allegations.
Kyari, who served as NNPCL’s GMD from 2019 until his replacement in July 2024, oversaw a period of reforms, including the transition of the Nigerian National Petroleum Corporation into a limited liability company.
