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EFCC Arrests Ex-NNPCL Top Officials For Alleged $7.2bn Fraud
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Operatives of the Economic and Financial Crimes Commission (EFCC) have arrested a former Chief Financial Officer (CFO) of the Nigerian National Petroleum Company Limited (NNPCL), Umar Isa, over an alleged $7.2 billion fraud linked with the rehabilitation of the Kaduna, Warri and Port Harcourt refineries.
Also in the custody of the EFCC is Jimoh Olasunkanmi, a former Managing Director of Warri Refinery.
Isa, as CFO, was in charge of the release of funds for the turnaround maintenance of the three refineries. Isa and all the key officials involved in the maintenance of the refineries and other NNPCL key projects are being investigated for alleged abuse of office, corruption, diversion of funds and kickbacks from contractors.
Other officials involved are the Managing Director of the Warri Refinery, Tunde Bakare; a former Managing Director of the Port Harcourt Refinery, Ahmed Dikko; and a former Managing Director of the Port Harcourt Refinery, Ibrahim Onoja.
EFCC’s spokesperson, Dele Oyewale, could not be reached for his comments.
Last week, the Senate Committee on Public Accounts, chaired by Aliyu Wadada, raised the alarm over discrepancies involving trillions of naira in the audited financial statements of the NNPCL, describing the revelations as mind-boggling and worrisome.
The committee underscored that the concerns stem directly from the analysis of NNPCL’s audited financial statements from 2017 to 2023. The committee immediately handed over a list of 11 queries to NNPCL finance team and gave them one week to return with answers.
Having given the NNPCL about two years to ramp up performance, President Bola Tinubu sacked all the Board members of the company on April 2, 2025.
Presidential spokesman Bayo Onanuga was unequivocal with the reasons for the restructuring, which he said was “crucial for enhancing operational efficiency, restoring investor confidence, boosting local content, driving economic growth, and advancing gas commercialisation and diversification”.
Though some commentators described the restructuring as long overdue, others felt it was better late than never.
Significantly, the president removed Mele Kyari as the company’s group chief executive officer. Kyari, one of the “star boys” bequeathed to Tinubu by his predecessor, Muhammadu Buhari, led the oil company from July 7, 2019, till his sacking on April 2, 2025.
Kyari worked in the NNPCL for more than three decades before his removal. When he clocked 60 in January 2025, there were protesting voices demanding his removal, but the president shunned the critics and retained him.
In April, Tinubu removed Kyari, alongside NNPCL Board Chair, Pius Akinyelure, as well as all other board members appointed with Akinyelure and Kyari in November 2023.
In their stead, the president appointed a new 11-man board with Bashir Ojulari as the Group CEO and Ahmadu Kida as non-executive chairman. Other Board members are Adedapo Segun, Bello Rabiu, Yusuf Usman, Babs Omotowa, Austin Avuru, David Ige, Henry Obih, Lydia Jafiya, and Aminu Ahmed.
A helicopter crash in Saudi Arabia killed 14 Saudi citizens on Sunday, the kingdom’s official press agency reported, adding that the aircraft belonged to state oil giant Aramco.
The Saudi Press Agency, citing an official at the energy ministry, reported the helicopter crashed in Ras Tanura in the country’s east.
“The accident claimed the lives of all 14 passengers, all Saudi citizens,” the agency said, adding that an investigation was under way to determine the cause of the crash.
Aramco says it operates more than 60 aircraft, including helicopters serving more than 300 heliports in Saudi Arabia, making it one of the largest corporate fleets in the region.
The deadly accident comes as oil-rich Gulf nations seek to ramp up their output following Iranian attacks and the closure of the Strait of Hormuz, a vital waterway for the export of oil and gas.
The Gulf monarchy did not indicate the incident was in any way connected to a hostile attack.
During the Middle East war, Iranian attacks had targeted energy facilities in the Gulf.
Ras Tanura is home to one of the largest refineries in the Middle East, with a capacity of 550,000 barrels per day, and is critical to Saudi Arabia’s energy sector.
The refinery has been targeted several times, notably during an Iranian drone attack at the beginning of the conflict, which caused a fire and forced a partial shutdown.
Riyadh said in April that the weeks-long attacks had disrupted several production operations at key facilities, with refineries in Ras Tanura as well as Jubail, Yanbu and Riyadh targeted.
Saudi Arabia, the world’s leading crude exporter, produces a little over 10 million bpd.
AFP
An Improvised Explosive Device, IED, planted by alleged bandits along the Kurawa–Sabon Birni road in Sokoto State on Sunday hit a vehicle, killing one person and injuring many passengers.
The incident raised fresh concerns over the growing use of explosive devices by criminal groups operating in parts of the North-West.
The vehicle was said to be conveying passengers from surrounding communities to Sabon Birni when it ran over the explosive device, triggering a blast that severely damaged the vehicle and left several occupants injured.
A security analyst based in the area, Bashir Guyawa, disclosed the incident in a post on his Facebook page.
Guyawa described the incident as another reminder of the persistent security challenges confronting communities along the border axis.
He said the vehicle was on a routine passenger trip when the explosion occurred.
“The vehicle was conveying passengers early this morning on their way to Sabon Birni when the unfortunate incident happened,” he wrote.
Twelve people were injured in a clash between farmers from Larabar Gadan Sarki and herders from the communities of Majawa and Karade in Warawa Local Government Area of Kano State.
The chairman of Warawa Local Government, Lamido Sunusi Ahmad, disclosed this in a statement issued by his media aide, Musleem Garindau.
The statement said the council chairman visited the injured victims at Wudil General Hospital and directed that the local government should cover the cost of their treatment until they had fully recovered.
He also commended community leaders and security personnel for their swift intervention, noting that calm had been restored to the affected communities.
The chairman urged residents to refrain from spreading rumours or engaging in any act capable of escalating tensions and instead embrace dialogue to promote peaceful coexistence.
Speaking further, the Vice Chairman of Warawa Local Government, Hon. Ibrahim Abdu Madari, explained that the conflict involved residents of the communities, all of whom are indigenous to the area.
He said reports indicated that the violence began after a cow strayed into a farmer’s field and ate some crops. The farmer allegedly beat the cow, prompting its owner to assault the farmer, and the disagreement later escalated into a wider clash.
He also reiterated his appeal to residents to live peacefully and resolve disputes through dialogue and mutual understanding.
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