The former Chief Financial Officer of the Nigerian National Petroleum Company Limited (NNPCL), Umar Isa, has been arrested by the Economic and Financial Crimes Commission, (EFCC)
He was arrested in connection with an alleged $7.2bn fraud linked to the rehabilitation of Nigeria’s three major refineries – Kaduna, Warri, and Port Harcourt
Also in EFCC custody is Jimoh Olasunkanmi, a former Managing Director of the Warri Refinery, as the anti-graft agency intensifies its probe into suspected large-scale corruption within the NNPCL.
Isa, who was responsible for disbursing funds for the turnaround maintenance of the refineries, is being investigated for alleged abuse of office, diversion of public funds, and receiving kickbacks from contractors.
Other senior officials reportedly under investigation include Tunde Bakare, the current Managing Director of the Warri Refinery, and two former Managing Directors of the Port Harcourt Refinery — Ahmed Dikko and Ibrahim Onoja.
Though EFCC spokesperson Dele Oyewale has not issued an official statement, the arrests come shortly after the Senate Committee on Public Accounts, chaired by Senator Aliyu Wadada, flagged troubling discrepancies in NNPCL’s audited accounts spanning 2017 to 2023. The Senate demanded answers to 11 audit queries, giving the finance team a one-week deadline.
This development also follows President Bola Tinubu’s sweeping overhaul of NNPCL leadership in April 2025.
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They will soon leave him