KEY POINTS
- Protesters have launched demands for investigating NNPCL leader Mele Kyari’s management at the company.
- The group of protesters centers its complaints on the billions spent at refineries and a $2 billion accumulated debt with Matrix Energy.
- The organization demands both a commission of inquiry and judicial review as essential procedures to examine NNPCL’s corporate agreements.
A large group of demonstrators entered the Office of the Attorney General of the Federation at the Federal Ministry of Justice Headquarters in Abuja to ask for a financial investigation on former Group Chief Executive Officer Mele Kyari’s NNPCL activities.
Comrade Kabir Matazu headed the concerned citizen protesters who used Concerned Citizens Against Corruption (CCAC) to ask for a five-year review of NNPCL financial operations.
Allegations of corruption and mismanagement at NNPCL
The demonstrators voiced dissatisfaction regarding President Bola Tinubu’s decision to remove NNPCL management along with Kyari and the board members in April 2025 because no investigation started into the suspected corrupt practices under Kyari’s leadership.
The protesters emphasized their concerns about the unclear use of billions of dollars which went toward repairing and restreaming refineries that belong to the government.
Matazu expressed concerns about the $2 billion debt of NNPCL to Matrix Energy as the company reportedly used daily oil allocations to service this debt. The activists demanded information about both the unpaid debt and the hidden terms between NNPCL and Matrix Energy regarding the settlement through oil deliveries.
Matazu demanded both accountability and transparency at the same time while seeking investigation of the practices responsible for the increasing debt.
Probe Into ex-NNPCL Boss tenure and accountability urged
Nigerians were praising the termination of Kyari’s government but protesters insisted that the government needed to study how public money was utilized for the controversial refineries’ repairs.
The organization pressed the attorney-general to review entire agreements Kyari’s leadership signed while investigating financial expenses which should include recommendations to recovery lost funds.
They asked for a complete investigation commission to study the refinery repair contract decisions managed by Kyari together with his former board as a way to show better transparency and accountability for NNPCL’s ongoing operations.
The petition addressed to the AGF requested immediate court assessment to determine the whole scope of corrupt activities while enabling authorities to prosecute liable parties.