In a stunning twist to Nigeria’s long-drawn struggle to revive its ailing oil refineries, the Economic and Financial Crimes Commission (EFCC) has swooped in, arresting the recently sacked Managing Directors of the Port Harcourt, Warri, and Kaduna refineries. Their arrests are tied to the alleged diversion and mismanagement of a mind-boggling $2.9 billion earmarked for the rehabilitation of the nation’s three state-owned refineries.
The former Managing Directors, identified as Mr. Ibrahim Onoja (Port Harcourt Refining Company), Efifia Chu (Warri Refining and Petrochemical Company), and Mustafa Sugungun (Kaduna Refining and Petrochemical Company), were picked up by EFCC operatives following damning revelations pointing to massive financial malfeasance. According to findings by The PUNCH, investigators discovered a shocking N80 billion stashed in the account of one of the sacked MDs.
A senior EFCC official, speaking under the condition of anonymity, confirmed the development, revealing that the arrests are part of a larger investigation into the billions of dollars funneled into refinery repairs that never materialized into functional facilities.
“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. Some have been arrested already, and we are still on the lookout for others,” the official said.
“Nigerians are interested in seeing our refineries work. We are asking: where is the money, and what has happened to the refineries?”
According to EFCC sources, the investigation is focused on the following disbursements:
- $1.5 billion for the Port Harcourt refinery
- $740 million for the Kaduna refinery
- $656 million for the Warri refinery
Despite these massive injections, none of the refineries is operational. Years of failed turnarounds, opaque contracting processes, and alleged sabotage by vested interests have kept the facilities grounded.
What’s more, the investigation has now crept up the ranks to the immediate past Group Chief Executive Officer of the Nigerian National Petroleum Company Limited (NNPCL), Mele Kyari. A confidential document obtained from NNPCL, dated April 28, 2025, titled “Investigation Activities: Request for Information”, names Kyari along with 13 other former top executives now under the EFCC radar.
This latest anti-corruption move comes at a critical time for the Tinubu administration, which has promised to sanitize Nigeria’s oil sector and cut the bleeding from opaque subsidy regimes and failed infrastructure.
Public reaction has been swift. Social commentators and civil society actors are demanding transparency, prosecution, and—most importantly—recoveries. Many are asking why Nigeria continues to import fuel despite pouring billions into the same refineries meant to end that dependence.
As the EFCC intensifies its dragnet and more revelations unfold, Nigerians are watching closely—this time, not just for arrests, but for convictions, reforms, and perhaps, for once, working refineries.