Refinery Scandal: EFCC Tightens Noose As Abba Kyari Faces Fresh Interrogation

The former Group Chief Executive Officer of the Nigerian National Petroleum Company Limited (NNPCL), Mele Kyari, on Thursday returned to the headquarters of the Economic and Financial Crimes Commission (EFCC) in Abuja for a fresh round of questioning.

Kyari had earlier spent several hours with investigators on Wednesday over allegations relating to refinery turnaround maintenance, petroleum resource management, and contract awards. He was released late that night on administrative bail but directed to report back the following day.

A senior EFCC official confirmed that Kyari remains under investigation. “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 said.

As part of his bail conditions, the EFCC seized his passport and other travel documents. The official added that the interrogation was ongoing and declined to give details on the progress of the probe.

In August, the EFCC secured a court order freezing four Jaiz Bank accounts linked to Kyari, reportedly used to hold over ₦661 million suspected to be proceeds of unlawful transactions. So far, the agency has recovered more than ₦5 billion and $10 million from contractors and officials implicated in fraudulent refinery maintenance deals, while an additional ₦10 billion and $13 million are still being traced.

The EFCC Chairman, Ola Olukoyede, is said to be directly supervising the investigation, having expressed concern over the continued non-functionality of Nigeria’s refineries despite enormous funds allocated for rehabilitation. According to the commission, the collapse of the refineries has been linked to large-scale fraud involving contract inflation, over-invoicing, and questionable payments.

The investigation, which covers the Warri, Kaduna, and Port Harcourt refineries, has already led to the interrogation of former management teams, with possible charges expected soon against some NNPCL officials.

Nigeria’s four state-owned refineries have been inoperative for decades despite billions of dollars invested in turnaround maintenance projects. The EFCC is currently examining $1.5 billion allocated to the Port Harcourt refinery, $740.6 million released for Kaduna, and $656.9 million for Warri—all of which failed to restore the plants to working condition.