Mele Kyari, former Group Managing Director of the Nigerian National Petroleum Company Limited (NNPCL), was, on Wednesday, grilled by operatives of the Economic and Financial Crimes Commission (EFCC) over alleged financial misconduct during his tenure.
It was learnt that Kyari was invited by the commission to answer questions on suspicious financial transactions linked to his leadership of the state-owned oil giant
Sources within the anti-graft agency confirmed that Kyari was at the EFCC headquarters in Abuja undergoing interrogation.
“He is here with our investigators at the moment. This is all I can confirm for now,” the sources said.
The investigation is said to be connected to alleged irregularities in the management of billions of dollars meant for reviving Nigeria’s comatose refineries.
Kyari had previously been placed on the commission’s watch list in relation to a controversial $7.2 billion refinery turnaround maintenance project that failed to yield results despite massive funding.
The probe intensified last week after the Federal High Court in Abuja granted an interim order freezing four bank accounts allegedly linked to Kyari.
The order, according to court filings, is to enable investigators trace the flow of funds and determine whether the accounts were used in laundering proceeds of fraud.
Kyari, who was appointed GMD of the Nigerian National Petroleum Corporation in July 2019 and later oversaw its transition into a limited liability company in 2021, was replaced in July 2024 amid mounting public scrutiny of NNPCL’s finances.
