The immediate past Group Managing Director (GMD) of Nigerian National Petroleum Company Limited (NNPCL), Mele Kyari, has honoured the invitation of the Economic and Financial Crimes Commission (EFCC) following its ongoing investigations into alleged fraud at NNPCL.

A top source within the EFCC, who spoke with The Guardian on condition of anonymity as he was not authorised to speak, disclosed this yesterday. The source confirmed that Kyari was invited, detained and was later released by the

anti-graft agency.

The development came days after the Federal High Court in Abuja ordered the temporary freezing of four Jaiz Bank accounts linked to Mele Kyari, over allegations of fraud.

Justice Emeka Nwite made the order after the EFCC’s lawyer, Ogechi Ujam, moved an ex parte motion to that effect. This development followed the Senate Committee on Public Accounts, chaired by Aliyu Wadada, raising the alarm about alleged discrepancies involving trillions of naira in the audited financial statements of NNPCL.

The committee described the revelations as mind-boggling and worrisome, emphasising that the concerns stem from its analysis of NNPCL’s audited financial statements from 2017 to 2023.

The committee immediately handed over a list of 11 queries to the NNPCL finance team with a one-week deadline for response.

The development comes months after President Bola Tinubu approved the reconstitution of the NNPCL board, removing the Chairman, Chief Pius Akinyelure, and the Group Chief Executive Officer, Mele Kyari. The restructuring affected all other board members appointed alongside Akinyelure and Kyari in November 2023. (The Guardian)