News
$3bn Refinery Fraud: N80bn Found In sacked MDs’ Bank Accounts

The Economic and Financial Crimes Commission has arrested the recently sacked managing directors and some top officials of the Port Harcourt Refining Company, Warri Refining and Petrochemical Company, and Kaduna Refining and Petrochemical Company.
The officials were arrested over alleged mismanagement of funds earmarked for the rehabilitation of the facilities. The total amount under investigation is $2,956,872,622.36.
Findings by The PUNCH showed that the EFCC is probing the sum of $1,559,239,084.36 allocated to the Port Harcourt refinery, $740,669,600 released for the Kaduna refinery, and $656,963,938 approved for the Warri refinery.
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.
This came as impeccable top management sources at the Nigerian National Petroleum Company Limited revealed that N80bn was found in the account of one of the sacked MDs.
Also, operators and experts in the sector lambasted NNPCL for deceiving Nigerians regarding the operations of the refineries, particularly the Port Harcourt and Warri plants, following the poor output from the facilities since their resumption of operations in November and December 2024.
Dashed hope
NNPCL manages the three refineries for Nigerians. The plants had remained dormant for decades, but the Port Harcourt and Warri refineries resumed operations in November and December 2024, respectively.
READ ALSO: EFCC Arrests 19 Suspected Internet Fraudsters In Edo
However, less than one month after the Warri refinery resumed operations, the plant was again shut down due to safety concerns.
The Port Harcourt refinery, on the other hand, has been operating below 40 per cent of its capacity since its widely celebrated revamp.
On Tuesday the new NNPCL management fired the managing directors of the three refineries under its purview.
Some other senior officials of the national oil firm were also asked to leave; among them was Bala Wunti, a former chief of the National Petroleum Investment Management Services, a subsidiary of the NNPCL.
The new management also asked many officials with one year to their various retirement dates to leave.
Arrest of suspects
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 time frame are being invited.
READ ALSO: Nigerian Risks 40 Years Jail Over $2.5m Fraud In US
“Some have been arrested already, and we are still on the lookout for others. Nigerians are interested in seeing our refineries work. We are asking: where is the money, and what has happened to the refineries?” the official said.
The source added that the investigation was far-reaching, covering all key actors involved in the management of the refineries during the period in question.
The EFCC spokesman, Dele Oyewale, could not be reached as of the time of filing this report.
Earlier, sources at the NNPCL told The PUNCH that one of the sacked MDs had been with the EFCC for about a week.
“Large amounts have been discovered in his accounts. About N80bn has so far been discovered in his various accounts. The way things are going, it may be bigger than Emefielegate,” the official, who spoke in confidence due to the nature of the probe, stated.
Another official stated, “All the three of them are being investigated by the EFCC. It is indeed sad!”
Kyari under probe
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.
READ ALSO: EFCC Arrests Bauchi Accountant General Over Alleged N70bn Fraud
The EFCC document was addressed to the Group Managing Director (Group Chief Executive Officer) of the national oil company and contained the names of 13 other former senior executives of the NNPCL.
“The commission is investigating a case of abuse of office and misappropriation of funds in which the underlisted officials of your organisation featured,” the document stated.
It outlined the officials to include Abubakar Yar’Adua, Mele Kyari, Isiaka Abdulrazak, Umar Ajiya, Dikko Ahmed, Ibrahim Onoja, Ademoye Jelili, and Mustapha Sugungun.
Others are Kayode Adetokunbo, Efiok Akpan, Babatunde Bakare, Jimoh Olasunkanmi, Bello Kankaya and Desmond Inyama.
“In view of the above, you are kindly requested to furnish certified true copies of their emoluments and allowances, including that of those who have retired and no longer work with your organisation,” the anti-graft commission told the NNPCL boss.
The spokesperson for the NNPCL, Olufemi Soneye, has remained mute over allegations against top officials of the company, as he ignored repeated enquiries on the matter.
Lies uncovered
Although this is not the first time the company has feigned the effectiveness of its operations, citizens have noted that the lack of transparency not only deepens public distrust but also fuels speculation about the company’s true intentions and the actual state of Nigeria’s oil infrastructure.
On Tuesday the NNPCL came under fire as the $897m Warri refinery revamp flopped.
The $1.5bn newly repaired Port Harcourt refinery had been struggling at under 37.87 per cent production capacity.
This was after the revelation that the Warri Refining and Petrochemical Company had remained shut since January 25, 2025, due to safety issues in its Crude Distillation Unit Main Heater.
An April 2025 document on the Midstream and Downstream sector obtained from the Nigerian Midstream and Downstream Petroleum Regulatory Authority revealed that the refinery, which consumed $897.6m in maintenance costs, failed to produce Premium Motor Spirit (petrol) and was shut down barely a month after former NNPCL boss, Kyari, declared it operational.
(PUNCH)
News
Boko Haram Once Nominated Muhammadu Buhari As Negotiator – Jonathan Revealed

Former President Goodluck Jonathan on Friday, disclosed that Boko Haram insurgents once nominated the late ex-President Muhammadu Buhari as their negotiator.
Jonathan said Boko Haram chose Buhari to negotiate with the Nigerian government on their behalf.
He made the disclosure while speaking at the public presentation of Scars, a book authored by former Chief of Defence Staff, Gen. Lucky Irabor (retd.), in Abuja.
READ ALSO:2027: Details Of Jonathan, Peter Obi Meeting Emerge
Jonathan said the insurgents named Buhari after his then-administration set up several committees to explore dialogue with the group.
Jonathan said: “One of the committees we set up then, the Boko Haram nominated Buhari to lead their team to negotiate with the government.
“So I was feeling that, oh, if they nominated Buhari to represent them and had a discussion with the government committee, then when Buhari took over, it could have been an easy way to negotiate with them and they would have handed over their guns. But it was still there till today.”
Jonathan noted that the inability of Buhari to eradicate Boko Haram terrorists showed that the crisis was more complex than often portrayed.
News
Edo: Pandemonium As NDLEA Operatives Chase Escaping Driver With Shooting

There was pandemonium at Oka Market, Upper Sakponba Road, Benin City, Friday, as operatives of the State Command of Nigerian Drug Law Enforcement Agency (NDLEA) shot sporadically in chase of an escaping driver.
In the course of the commotion, traders and residents took to their heels, probably to avoid being hit by stray bullets, while others were confused, not sure of what caused the sporadic gunshots.
The sporadic gunshots which lasted more than five minutes at the gate of the NDLEA Head Office, by Oka Market, followed a hot chase of an articulated vehicle driver who was said to have brushed their (NDLEA) vehicle.
READ ALSO:NDLEA Arrests Two Drug Kingpins, Seizes Cocaine, Heroin, Meth In Lagos
The driver, who reportedly brushed the NDLEA vehicle refused to stop for negation, which prompted officers at the scene to alert their colleagues who waited at the alert.
According to eyewitnesses, as the escaping articulated driver approached the NDLEA office, officers who were said to have been alerted by their colleagues pursuing the trailer began to shoot.
Seven of the tyres of the trailer were deflated by bullets of the NDLEA operatives yet the driver refused to stop.
The officers continued to shoot while pursuing him, until he was caught.
READ ALSO:NDLEA Destroys Over 18,000 KG Of Cannabis In Edo Forest
A source said that the driver brushed their vehicle on the way, and that every effort by the officers to stop him so they could settle the matter proved abortive; hence the gunshots and deflation of the tires.
“It was a simple thing; they jammed our men, but the officers tried to stop him so that they could settle, but the driver refused to stop. That is why the men have been shooting to stop him. Even after bursting about seven tires, he was still running, but we caught him and they are bringing him back to our office,” he concluded.
Calls and messages sent to the commander, Edo State NDLEA Command, Mr. Mitchell Ofoyeju, were not responded to as at when filing this.
News
JUST IN: Court Bars Police From Enforcing Tinted Glass Regulation

The Federal High Court sitting in Warri has issued an order directing the Nigeria Police Force and the Inspector-General of Police to maintain the status quo in the ongoing case concerning the controversial tinted glass permit.
The case, Suit No. FHC/WR/CS/103/2025: John Aikpokpo-Martins v. Inspector-General of Police & Nigeria Police Force, came up for hearing today.
READ ALSO:Police Clear Pastor Paul Adefarasin Over ‘Gun-like’ Object In Viral Video
Delivering the interim order, the Court directed the police authorities to respect judicial processes pending further proceedings in the matter.
Confirming the development, Kunle Edun, SAN, who led the legal team, noted that the directive is a major step in ensuring that the rule of law is upheld while the substantive issues in the case are being determined.
Details of the ruling and the next adjourned date are expected shortly.
Further updates coming soon…
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