The Economic and Financial Crimes Commission (EFCC) has arrested the recently sacked managing directors and some top officials of the Port Harcourt, Warri, and Kaduna refineries over alleged mismanagement of funds earmarked for the rehabilitation of the refineries. The total amount under investigation is $2.9 billion.
According to findings by the PUNCH, the EFCC is probing the sum of $1.5 billion allocated to the Port Harcourt refinery, $740 million released for the Kaduna refinery, and $656 million approved for the Warri refinery. A senior EFCC source revealed that the arrests of the three ex-MDs and top officials were part of an ongoing investigation into the billions of dollars released for the quick-fix maintenance of the three state-owned refineries.
“We are investigating the money that was released for the rehabilitation of all three refineries—money disbursed in recent times. All the principal officers within that timeframe are being invited. Some have been arrested already, and we are still on the lookout for others,” the official said.
“Nigerians are interested in seeing our refineries work. We are asking: where is the money, and what has happened to the refineries?” the official added.
Impeccable top management sources at the Nigerian National Petroleum Company Limited also revealed that N80 billion was found in the account of one of the sacked MDs. The ex-Managing Director of Port Harcourt Refining Company Ltd is Mr. Ibrahim Onoja, while Efifia Chu served as the ex-Managing Director of the Warri Refining and Petrochemical Company Ltd.
A document obtained by the PUNCH on Friday from NNPCL, dated April 28, 2025, and titled, ‘Investigation Activities: Request for Information’, indicated that the probe by EFCC included the immediate past Group Chief Executive Officer of the national oil firm, Mele Kyari. The EFCC document contained the names of 13 other former senior executives of the NNPCL under probe for misappropriation of funds.