A coalition of demonstrators, operating under the banner of Concerned Citizens Against Corruption (CCAC), staged a protest on Tuesday at the Federal Ministry of Justice in Abuja, urging the Attorney General of the Federation to initiate an immediate investigation into the tenure of Mele Kyari, the former Group Chief Executive Officer of the Nigerian National Petroleum Company Limited (NNPCL).
The protesters, led by Comrade Kabir Matazu, voiced frustration over what they described as government inaction following Kyari’s removal along with the NNPCL board by President Bola Tinubu on April 2, 2025.
Despite the high-profile dismissals, Matazu noted, “no step has been taken to investigate alleged corrupt practices under Kyari’s leadership.”
The group raised serious concerns over alleged financial irregularities related to the rehabilitation of government-owned refineries, asserting that billions of dollars were spent with minimal transparency.
Also at the center of the protest was a purported $2 billion debt the NNPCL allegedly owes Matrix Energy, which, according to CCAC, is being repaid 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 stated.
“It is also of note that in Mele Kyari, the leadership of the NNPCL was plagued with countless and endless allegations of corruption due to what was described as a lack of transparency,” he added.
According to the group, Nigerians remain dissatisfied with the current approach.
“Nigerians are disenchanted that the President has only stopped at removing the former leadership without taking steps to investigate how Kyari and his team ran the organisation.”
Referring to allegations surrounding the refineries, Matazu said “In this regard, a sore point is the alleged fraud surrounding the rehabilitation and the restreaming of the government-owned refineries. The figures and the facts simply do not add 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 an oil company, 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.”
The group pointed out contradictions and raised several critical questions about the NNPCL’s financial dealings.
“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.
“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 a daily supply of crude oil? Who were the parties to the negotiations of this deal? Why are Nigerians being kept in the dark?”
According to the CCAC, resolving these questions is essential to ensuring accountability.
“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 spent 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.”
The group emphasized that a full-scale probe would not only expose past misdeeds but also act as a preventive framework.
“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 their formal petition to the Attorney General, the protesters demanded a review of all contracts and agreements entered into by the NNPCL under Kyari’s leadership.
“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,” they wrote.
In addition, the group called for a commission of inquiry to examine the awarding and execution of refinery rehabilitation contracts under the ousted board.
