Mele Kyari, the former Group Chief Executive Officer of the Nigerian National Petroleum Company Limited (NNPCL), returned to the Abuja headquarters of the Economic and Financial Crimes Commission (EFCC) on Thursday for a second round of interrogation.
Kyari had previously been questioned for several hours on Wednesday regarding allegations related to refinery turnaround maintenance, petroleum resource management, and contract awards. He was released late Wednesday night but was instructed to return the following 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 has seized Kyari’s passport and other travel documents. “His passport and other travel documents are with us,” the official added.
When asked about any breakthroughs in the investigation, the source stated, “Investigation is still ongoing.”
In August, the EFCC obtained a court order to freeze four Jaiz Bank accounts linked to Kyari, which reportedly contained over ₦661 million suspected to be proceeds of unlawful activities.
To date, the commission has recovered more than ₦5 billion and $10 million from contractors and officials implicated in fraudulent refinery maintenance deals, with an additional ₦10 billion and $13 million still being traced.
EFCC Chairman, Ola Olukoyede, is personally overseeing the investigation, expressing dissatisfaction with the continued non-functionality of the refineries despite significant financial investments.
The anti-graft agency has indicated that fraudulent practices, including over-invoicing, contract inflation, and questionable payments, have primarily contributed to the deterioration 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 non-operational for decades, despite numerous rehabilitation projects. Successive governments have invested billions of dollars into turnaround maintenance, yet the country continues to rely heavily on imported petroleum products.
The EFCC is currently investigating $1.5 billion allocated to the Port Harcourt refinery, $740.6 million released for Kaduna, and $656.9 million approved for Warri, all of which failed to produce functional plants.
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