Mele Kyari, the immediate past Group Chief Executive Officer (GCEO) of Nigerian National Petroleum Company Limited (NNPCL), has been released from the Economic and Financial Crimes Commission (EFCC)’s custody after honouring an invitation extended to him by the anti-graft agency on Wednesday.
Kyari’s visit to the EFCC’s headquarters was in connection with ongoing investigations into fraud allegations at the state-owned oil company.
Specifically, insider sources hinted that Kyari was invited to clarify issues surrounding huge financial transactions while he was at the helm of affairs.
Speaking on condition of anonymity, a competent source in the EFCC said Kyari was invited, temporarily detained but later released to go home after being grilled by some operatives for hours.
Kyari, who is currently placed on EFCC’s watchlist, arrived at the Agency’s headquarters in Abuja at about 2:30pm on Wednesday and was expected to provide explanations on issues bordering on funds earmarked for the Turnaround Maintenance (TAM) of refineries in the country when he presided as the NNPCL Big Boss.
Responding to our reporter’s enquiries, the source responded thus, “Yes, Kyari is in our office. He will be ushered to where the investigative team of the Commission will interrogate him on matters relating the the NNPCL’s probe.”
This latest development is coming just days after the Federal High Court in Abuja ordered the temporary freezing of four Jaiz Bank accounts linked to Kyari, over allegations of fraud.
The order was made by Justice Emeka Nwite following an ex parte motion brought before him by the EFCC’s lawyer, Ogechi Ujam.
Kyari’s travails began after the Senate Committee on Public Accounts, chaired by Aliyu Wadada, raised an alarm about alleged discrepancies involving trillions of Naira in the audited financial statements of NNPCL.
The Committee described the revelations as mind-boggling and worrisome, noting that the concerns stem from its analysis of NNPCL’s audited financial statements from 2017 to 2023.
Accordingly, the Committee immediately handed over a list of 11 queries to the NNPCL finance team with a one-week deadline for response.
Recalled that allegations of massive corruption in the oil company, President Bola Tinubu recently approved the reconstitution of the NNPCL Board, with the erstwhile Chairman, Chief Pius Akinyelure, and the Group Chief Executive Officer, Mele Kyari, yanked off from their prized positions.
Also affected by the Presidency’s sudden restructuring were all Board members appointed in November 2023, alongside Akinyelure and Kyari
