By More than 500 anti-corruption lawyers under the banner of Guardians of Democracy and Rule of Law staged a protest at the Federal Ministry of Justice on Wednesday, calling for the immediate investigation of Mele Kyari, former Group Chief Executive Officer of the Nigerian National Petroleum Company Limited (NNPCL).
The lawyers submitted a petition detailing allegations of corruption and opaque management under Kyari’s leadership, particularly involving the multi-billion dollar rehabilitation of the country’s refineries.
“The Federal Government must get to the root of how public funds were spent,” said Barrister Emmanuel Agada, a co-signatory of the petition.
They cited the case of Matrix Energy Limited, which allegedly invested $400 million in refinery repairs while NNPCL still owes the company over $2 billion—debts reportedly serviced with daily crude allocations.
The petition was received on behalf of AGF Lateef Fagbemi (SAN) by Deputy Director Winifred Adekunle, who promised swift action.
The group demanded a judicial review of all contracts entered under Kyari’s tenure and the establishment of a commission of inquiry to probe the refinery projects.
