A group of Nigerian lawyers has asked the Ministry of Finance to investigate Mele Kyari, the former Group Chief Executive Officer of the Nigerian National Petroleum Corporation Limited (NNPCL). They want a special judicial commission to look into how Kyari spent over $4 billion on repairing the country’s refineries.

The lawyers, working under the name Guardians of Democracy and Rule of Law, accused Kyari of corruption, tax evasion, abuse of office, and misusing public funds. According to them, Kyari spent far more than necessary to fix the refineries.

Barrister Benjamin Theophilus, who led the group, said that private companies had earlier offered to fix all three refineries for about $1 billion. But under Kyari’s leadership, NNPCL reportedly spent $1.5 billion each on the Port Harcourt and Warri refineries, and $1 billion on the Kaduna refinery — totaling more than $4 billion. Yet, despite all that spending, the refineries are still not working properly without heavy chemical support.

The petition also pointed out other serious concerns, such as the illegal allocation of crude oil, shady financial deals labeled as “pipeline security” payments, and mismanagement of the $5 billion AKK Gas Pipeline Project. They added that fuel subsidy fraud increased during COVID-19 when fuel use should have gone down.

The group claimed that crude-backed loans under Kyari’s leadership reached $21.565 billion, putting Nigeria in a bad financial position because profits from crude sales were handed over to foreign traders.

The lawyers are demanding a full investigation, the recovery of any stolen money, and cooperation with the Federal Inland Revenue Service (FIRS) to uncover possible tax fraud. They also insist that a Judicial Commission of Inquiry must be formed, led by a respected former Supreme Court judge, to ensure a fair investigation.

Copies of their petition were officially received at the Finance Ministry.