The Economic and Financial Crimes Commission, EFCC has commenced investigation into alleged misappropriation of funds and abuse of office by some former senior officials of the Nigerian National Petroleum Company Limited, NNPC Ltd.

Former chief executives of the company, Mele Kyari, Abubakar Yar’Adua and others were alleged to have misappropriated about $2.96 billion earmarked for the rehabilitation of Port Harcourt, Warri, and Kaduna refineries.

The development was disclosed in a letter dated 28 April and addressed to the Group Managing Director, NNPC Towers, Herbert Macaulay Way, Central Business District, Abuja.

It was gathered that the anti-graft agency is specifically investigating the disbursements of $1.56 billion for the Port Harcourt refinery, $740 million for the Kaduna refinery, and $657 million for the Warri refinery.

Those under investigation include:

Abubakar Lawal Yar’Adua

Mele Kolo Kyari

Isiaka Abdulrazak

Umar Ajiyap

Dikko Ahmed

Ibrahim Onoja

Ademoye Adeniyi Jelili

Mustapha Magaji Sugungun

Kayode Olusegun Adetokunbo

Efiok Michael Akpan

Babatunde Bakare

Jimoh Olasunkanmi

Bello Kankaya

Desmond Inyama

At least 11 persons have been reportedly killed in a series of coordinated attacks by armed bandits on three communities in Sokoto State.

This was revealed by security analyst Zagazola Makama in a post on his official X handle on Saturday.

According to Makama, the attacks occurred on the evening of Thursday, May 2, at about 7:30 p.m., targeting villages in Gwadabawa and Sabon Birni Local Government Areas.

“The assailants, said to be in large numbers, first stormed Satiru Village, killing five residents.

They then moved to Kunkurus Village, where one person was killed, before proceeding to Shadawa community in Sabon Birni LGA, where they shot and killed another five people, bringing the total number of casualties to eleven,” he wrote.

Responding to the attacks, troops under Operation FANSAN YANMA, in collaboration with operatives of the Nigeria Police Force, Nigeria Security and Civil Defence Corps (NSCDC), and Sokoto Community Guards, mobilized to the affected areas.

However, the terrorists had already fled before security forces arrived.

Makama noted that the troops are currently trailing the fleeing assailants in an intensified manhunt aimed at apprehending those responsible for the killings.

The Economic and Financial Crimes Commission has arrested the recently sacked managing directors and some top officials of the Port Harcourt Refining Company, Warri Refining and Petrochemical Company, and Kaduna Refining and Petrochemical Company.

The officials were arrested over alleged mismanagement of funds earmarked for the rehabilitation of the facilities. The total amount under investigation is $2,956,872,622.36.

Findings showed that the EFCC is probing the sum of $1,559,239,084.36 allocated to the Port Harcourt refinery, $740,669,600 released for the Kaduna refinery, and $656,963,938 approved for the Warri refinery.

The ex-Managing Director of Port Harcourt Refining Company Ltd is Mr Ibrahim Onoja, while Efifia Chu served as the ex-Managing Director of the Warri Refining and Petrochemical Company Ltd.

This came as impeccable top management sources at the Nigerian National Petroleum Company Limited revealed that N80bn was found in the account of one of the sacked MDs.

Also, operators and experts in the sector lambasted NNPCL for deceiving Nigerians regarding the operations of the refineries, particularly the Port Harcourt and Warri plants, following the poor output from the facilities since their resumption of operations in November and December 2024.

Dashed Hope

NNPCL manages the three refineries for Nigerians. The plants had remained dormant for decades, but the Port Harcourt and Warri refineries resumed operations in November and December 2024, respectively.

However, less than one month after the Warri refinery resumed operations, the plant was again shut down due to safety concerns.

The Port Harcourt refinery, on the other hand, has been operating below 40 per cent of its capacity since its widely celebrated revamp.

On Tuesday, The PUNCH exclusively reported that the new NNPCL management fired the managing directors of the three refineries under its purview.

Some other senior officials of the national oil firm were also asked to leave; among them was Bala Wunti, a former chief of the National Petroleum Investment Management Services, a subsidiary of the NNPCL.

The new management also asked many officials with one year to their various retirement dates to leave.

Source: PUNCH