Former Group Chief Executive Officer of the Nigerian National Petroleum Company Limited (NNPCL), Mele Kolo Kyari, is under investigation by the Economic and Financial Crimes Commission (EFCC) over billions of dollars spent on refinery repairs during his tenure.
Kyari appeared before investigators at the EFCC headquarters in Abuja on Tuesday, where his international passport was seized. As of 8:30 p.m., he was still being quizzed, raising speculation over possible detention.
According to EFCC sources, detectives are probing how over $2 billion released for Turn-Around Maintenance (TAM) was utilised: $1.55 billion for the Port Harcourt Refinery, $740.6 million for Kaduna, and $656.9 million for Warri. Investigators also raised questions about N4.8 trillion incurred as operating costs despite the refineries being dormant.
Kyari, who consistently maintained that he has “nothing to hide,” said in a statement titled Hard Questions, Honest Answers: “I have done my part; the EFCC must do theirs. When each of us does our duty – without fear of favour, with honour, respect and commitment – Nigeria moves forward.”
The anti-graft agency is also examining contracts awarded under Kyari’s leadership, including a $497.3 million quick-fix deal with Daewoo Engineering in 2022 for the Warri Refinery, and a 2017 technical survey contract with Saipem worth over €2 million. Some former officials have reportedly refunded portions of TAM funds.
Kyari, appointed in 2019 and removed on April 2, 2025, had overseen the much-publicised reopening of the Port Harcourt Refinery in November 2024. But the facility was shut down again in May 2025, barely a month after his successor, Bayo Ojulari, took over.
Ojulari later revealed that Nigeria was losing between $300 million and $500 million monthly when the Port Harcourt plant ran under Kyari. He explained that only 40 percent of crude pumped into the refinery was converted into output, forcing him to halt operations to stem losses.
Despite over $18 billion reportedly spent on TAM since 2010, Nigeria’s four state-owned refineries two in Port Harcourt, one in Warri, and one in Kaduna, with a combined capacity of 445,000 barrels per day remain largely non-functional.
The EFCC probe, sources say, will move into a second phase focused on major contracts awarded under Kyari’s watch.
