By Ogochukwu Isioma
A group of protesters, Concerned Citizens Against Corruption, stormed the office of the Attorney General of the Federation (AGF) and Minister of Justice on Tuesday to demand the prosecution of former Nigerian National Petroleum Company Limited (NNPCL) Group Chief Executive Officer, Mele Kyari, and a thorough investigation into the company’s transactions for the past five years.
The protesters, led by its Convener, Comrade Kabir Matazu, expressed disappointment that despite President Bola Tinubu’s sack of Kyari and the entire NNPCL board on April 2, 2025, no steps have been taken to investigate the alleged corrupt practices under Kyari’s leadership.
The group highlighted the controversy surrounding the rehabilitation and restreaming of government-owned refineries, citing allegations of billions of dollars being spent without transparency.
They also pointed out a perplexing issue where NNPCL is reportedly owing Matrix Energy over $2 billion, with the debt being serviced through daily crude oil allocations.
“It is on record that this sack of the erstwhile corrupt leadership of the NNPCL drew applause from Nigerians, especially groups like our, which had been at the forefront of demanding accountability and transparency in the running of institutions,” Matazu said.
“It is also of note that in Mele Kyari leadership of the NNPCL was plagued with countless and endless allegations of corruption owing the opaque way he ran the place, more of a racket in favour of his friends and associates.
“This corrupt handling of the place was so suffocating to the national economy that Nigerians were taking to the streets to demand Kyari’s removal from the job, which Mr President eventually acceded to.
“However, Nigerians are disenchanted that Mr President has only stopped at removing the former leadership without taking steps to investigate how the Kyari and his cabal bled this country dry in various ways, which we believe is still hurting the country economically as we speak.
“In this regard, a sore point is the fraud surrounding the rehabilitation and the restreaming of the government owned refineries. The figures and the facts are simply not adding up.
“In addition to the billions of dollars that the Kyari-led administration claimed to have spent on fixing the refineries, it also claimed that one of his fronts, Matrix Energy Limited invested $400 million in the rehabilitation of the Port Harcourt Refinery. This is even as the Federal Executive Council had approved $1.5 billion for the repairs of the same facility.
“But there are even more perplexing issues emerging. The NNPCL is now reportedly owing Matrix Energy more than $2 billion. This debt is being serviced through daily crude oil allocations to Matrix Energy that are not being paid for.
“What we are talking about here is a daily allocation of 80,000 barrels of crude oil to a non-state actors running a security outfit. Because of the deals he entered, Nigerians are being shortchanged by Kyari’s associates even when he is no longer in office.
“There are consequently posers that require urgent clarifications. Why and how is the Federal Government through the NNPCL owing Matrix Oil $2 billion? Why is the debt being paid with daily supply of crude oil? Who were the parties to the negotiations of this satanic deal? Why are Nigerians being kept in the dark?
“The Concerned Citizens Against Corruption strongly believes that getting to the root of this matter will help the Federal Government to account for how public resources were squandered on the controversial refineries’ repairs undertaken under the Kyari leadership.
“An investigation into the questionable transactions would also point the government in the direction of what funds to recover and from whom, which is sorely needed now considering Nigeria’s economic condition.
“Furthermore, investigating all that transpired will set the stage for holding even the current leadership accountable while equally identifying potential pitfalls for those who are now in charge so that Nigeria is not caught in a loop of repeating the same mistakes.
“In view of the foregoing, the Concerned Citizens Against Corruption calls on the Minister of Justice and Attorney General of the Federation to immediately review all agreements entered by the NNPCL under the Mele Kyari administration.
“This investigation should find out how much the Federal Government has lost to such agreements and recommendations on to recover identified funds. We demand for an immediate judicial review. “
The Concerned Citizens Against Corruption called on the Minister of Justice to escalate the issue to a point where the Federal Government institutes a commission of inquiry into NNPCL’s handling of the refineries’ repairs under Kyari and the sacked board.
The protesters vowed to continue demanding accountability and transparency in the running of institutions, emphasizing that Nigerians deserve to know the truth about the alleged corrupt practices under Kyari’s leadership.
