Senate Orders Arrest Of Ex-NNPC Boss Mele Kyari Over Missing N210 Trillion

The Senate has directed security agencies to arrest the former Group Chief Executive Officer of the Nigerian National Petroleum Company Limited (NNPCL), Mele Kyari.

The Senate Committee on Public Accounts gave the order after Mele Kyari failed to appear before the committee over questions surrounding an alleged ₦210 trillion that could not be accounted for between 2017 and 2023.

Kyari did not attend the committee’s hearing, prompting lawmakers to consider stronger action against him.

Some members of the committee appealed to the chairman, Senator Ibrahim Dankwambo, to give Kyari another chance to appear.

The lawmakers said they had received information that he was in Germany for medical treatment.

However, several senators rejected the request, insisting that there was no official medical document to support the claim.

Senator Abdul Ningi argued that verbal explanations were not enough, while Senator Victor Umeh proposed that a warrant be issued for Kyari’s arrest.

The motion was supported by the committee’s Deputy Chairman, Senator Peter Nwaebonyi, who said the committee had already given Kyari enough opportunities to appear.

“This is the ninth time this committee is meeting on the 19 queries raised against NNPCL by the Office of the Auditor-General of the Federation. I personally chaired three of these sessions.

“Mr Chairman, the time to issue a warrant of arrest against Mele Kyari is now because the committee must conclude its assignment and report back to the Senate,” he said.

Following a voice vote, the committee approved the motion.

Chairman Dankwambo then ordered that Kyari be arrested wherever he is and brought before the committee.

Meanwhile, the former Chief Financial Officer of NNPCL, Umar Ajiya Isa, dismissed claims that ₦210 trillion was missing.

He said the company’s total revenue between 2017 and 2023 was about ₦54.5 trillion, making it impossible for ₦210 trillion to be unaccounted for.

“To be clear, if money had gone missing at NNPC during our tenure, we would not have had the confidence to publish audited accounts. For more than 40 years, those accounts were either not prepared, not published, or not submitted to the Auditor-General.

“₦210 trillion is an enormous amount. NNPC’s total revenue during the period under review was about ₦54.5 trillion, even before deducting production costs. It is therefore impossible for ₦210 trillion to be missing or unaccounted for,” he said.

Ajiya further denied allegations that ₦5.8 billion was spent on registering NNPC Limited, describing the claim as false and harmful.

“Unfounded claims cause significant damage. They affect the reputations of individuals, the company and Nigeria as a whole. International rating agencies rely on public information to assess countries, and inaccurate reports can negatively impact Nigeria’s credit rating and national interests,” he said.

Ajiya challenged anyone making the allegations to provide evidence to support their claims.

As part of the ongoing investigation, the committee directed Ajiya and Bala Wunti, who served as Chief Upstream Investment Officer during the period under review, to return for another hearing in two weeks.

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