![Mele Kyari, former chief executive officer of NNPC Co. Ltd. [Getty Images]](https://image.api.sportal365.com/process/smp-images-production/pulse.ng/26092024/910d01b3-14af-42c4-910e-e0da25d39f41?operations=autocrop(1042:580))
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A coalition of Nigerian lawyers, under the Guardian of Democracy and Rule of Law, has petitioned the Minister of Finance, demanding an urgent judicial inquiry into the tenure of Mele Kyari, the former Chief of the Nigerian National Petroleum Corporation Limited (NNPCL).
Led by Barrister Benjamin Theophilus, the group accused Kyari of "monumental corruption, tax evasion, abuse of office, and misappropriation of public funds," with a particular emphasis on over $4 billion allegedly wasted on refinery repairs.
“Mele Kyari is alleged to have collaborated with certain consultants and contractors involved in the refineries rehabilitation projects to conceal the actual cost of the contracts and evade taxes due to the Federal Government,” the petition stated.
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![The Nigerian Economic Summit Group (NESG) and key partners have launched the Borno Development Foundation (BDF). [Pulse Nigeria/Segun Adeyemi]](https://image.api.sportal365.com/process//smp-images-production/pulse.ng/24042025/e1a12dd3-df8c-46ce-8902-c35e99704de5.jpg?operations=autocrop(340:210))
The lawyers contrasted the $4 billion spent under Kyari’s leadership with a prior $1 billion proposal by private firms to rehabilitate the same refineries, suggesting "monumental project cost inflation."
Despite these expenditures, the petition noted that the refineries remain unable to produce gasoline efficiently without significant chemical imports.
The petition also raised concerns about alleged diversion of crude oil allocations, financial irregularities in the $5 billion AKK Gas Pipeline Project, fuel subsidy fraud, and disadvantageous crude-backed loans totalling $21.565 billion since 2019.
![Mele Kyari, chief executive officer of NNPC Co. Ltd. [Getty Images]](https://image.api.sportal365.com/process/smp-images-production/pulse.ng/26092024/c52bd55b-d602-47de-ab98-f76f641ed5a4?operations=fit(1042:))
“There is credible information that crude oil allocations were diverted, and financial transactions were carried out under the guise of ‘pipeline security’ with no transparency,” the lawyers alleged.
They demanded full recovery of public funds if misappropriation is confirmed and called for collaboration with the Federal Inland Revenue Service (FIRS) to investigate suspected tax fraud.
The protest and petition concluded with a call for an independent Judicial Commission of Inquiry led by retired Supreme Court justices, emphasising that accountability in the petroleum sector is "non-negotiable."