The immediate past Group Chief Executive Officer of the Nigerian National Petroleum Company Limited (NNPCL), Mele Kyari, on Thursday returned to the Abuja headquarters of the Economic and Financial Crimes Commission (EFCC) for a second round of interrogation.
Naija News reports that Kyari, who was grilled for several hours on Wednesday over allegations bordering on refinery turnaround maintenance, petroleum resource management and contract awards, was released late that night but ordered to report back the next day.
A senior EFCC official confirmed to Punch that Kyari remains on administrative bail.
“He was released late yesterday, went home, and came back today. He is still with us as I speak. He is on administrative bail and will continue to report until we are done with the interrogation,” the source revealed.
As part of his bail conditions, the EFCC seized his passport and other travel documents. “His passport and other travel documents are with us,” the official added.
When pressed on whether investigators had recorded breakthroughs, the source said only, “Investigation is still ongoing.”
In August, the EFCC secured a court order freezing four Jaiz Bank accounts linked to Kyari, reportedly used to warehouse over ₦661m, suspected to be proceeds of unlawful activities.
So far, the commission has recovered more than ₦5bn and $10m from contractors and officials indicted in fraudulent refinery maintenance deals, with an additional ₦10bn and $13m still being traced.
EFCC Chairman, Ola Olukoyede, is said to be personally supervising the probe, having expressed displeasure at the continued non-functionality of the refineries despite massive spending.
The anti-graft agency revealed that fraudulent practices, including over-invoicing, contract inflation and questionable payments, were primarily responsible for the collapse of the facilities.
“Our investigation into the turnaround maintenance of the nation’s refineries in Warri, Kaduna and Port Harcourt has yielded major discoveries of large-scale fraud,” the EFCC stated.
Former management teams of the three refineries have also been interrogated, with charges expected soon against some NNPCL officials.
Nigeria’s four state-owned refineries have remained comatose for decades despite repeated rehabilitation projects. Successive governments have poured billions of dollars into turnaround maintenance, yet the country continues to rely heavily on imported petroleum products.
The EFCC is currently probing $1.5bn allocated to the Port Harcourt refinery, $740.6m released for Kaduna, and $656.9m approved for Warri, all of which failed to deliver functional plants.
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