EFCC Arrests Former MDs of Warri, Kaduna, Port Harcourt Refineries, CFO Over $7.2 Billion TAM Fraud

Operatives of the Economic and Financial Crimes Commission (EFCC) have apprehended Umar Isa, a former Chief Financial Officer (CFO) of the Nigerian National Petroleum Company Limited (NNPCL), in connection with an alleged $7.2 billion fraud associated with the refurbishment of the Kaduna, Warri, and Port Harcourt refineries.

Also detained by the EFCC is Jimoh Olasunkanmi, a former Managing Director of the Warri Refinery.

In his capacity as CFO, Isa was responsible for the disbursement of funds for the turnaround maintenance of the three refineries. Isa, along with all the principal officials involved in the maintenance of the refineries and other significant NNPC projects, is under investigation for alleged abuse of office, corruption, misappropriation of funds, and kickbacks from contractors.

Other implicated officials include the Managing Director of the Warri Refinery, Tunde Bakare; a former Managing Director of the Port Harcourt Refinery, Ahmed Dikko; and a former Managing Director of the Port Harcourt Refinery, Ibrahim Onoja.

Last week, the Senate Committee on Public Accounts, chaired by Aliyu Wadada, sounded the alarm over discrepancies amounting to trillions of naira in the audited financial statements of the NNPCL, describing the findings as both astounding and troubling.

The committee emphasized that these concerns arose directly from their examination of NNPCL’s audited financial statements spanning from 2017 to 2023. The committee promptly presented a list of 11 queries to the NNPCL finance team, granting them one week to furnish responses.