The Conference of Nigeria Political Parties (CNPP) and more than 75 civil society organisations operating under the Coalition of National Civil Society Organisations (CNCSOs) have raised fresh concerns over the ability of Nigeria’s legislature to ensure accountability in corruption investigations, warning that decades of parliamentary probes have rarely produced prosecutions or jail terms for culpable public officials.
The political parties’ umbrella body and its civil society allies made the assertion in a joint press statement signed by CNPP’s Deputy National Publicity Secretary, James Ezema, and the National Secretary of the CNCSOs, Ali Abacha, in reaction to the ongoing Senate investigation into alleged ₦210 trillion accounting discrepancies in the books of the Nigerian National Petroleum Company Limited (NNPCL) during the tenure of its former Group Chief Executive Officer, Mele Kyari.
In the strongly worded statement, the groups expressed skepticism about the outcome of the Senate probe, arguing that similar investigations conducted by the National Assembly of Nigeria since the country’s return to democratic rule in 1999 have largely ended without meaningful consequences.
According to the groups, legislative investigations into corruption across various sectors of the Nigerian economy—especially the petroleum industry—have historically generated significant public attention but seldom translated into criminal prosecution or conviction.
They stated that the recurring pattern has become familiar to Nigerians: once a scandal breaks, the legislature convenes hearings, officials are summoned, public outrage follows, and investigative reports are promised. However, the matter often fades away without concrete action against those responsible.
The organisations noted that the latest probe by the Senate into the financial records of the national oil company has again brought the issue of accountability in Nigeria’s petroleum sector to the forefront of national discourse.
The Senate is currently investigating allegations of about ₦210 trillion in accounting discrepancies linked to the operations of the Nigerian National Petroleum Company Limited, particularly during the leadership of Mele Kyari, who previously served as Group Managing Director of the defunct Nigerian National Petroleum Corporation (NNPC) before the organisation was restructured and transformed into a limited liability company.
While the CNPP and the coalition of civil society groups welcomed the decision by the Senate to summon former officials of the company to explain the controversial figures, they warned that the probe must not follow what they described as a familiar trajectory of inconclusive investigations.
“For more than two decades, Nigerians have witnessed countless legislative probes that ended without prosecution, conviction, or imprisonment of those responsible for corruption uncovered during the hearings,” the statement said.
The groups recalled that they had repeatedly raised alarm over the financial management of the national oil company during the tenure of the former management led by Mele Kyari, alleging opaque accounting practices and questionable financial disclosures relating to subsidy payments, crude oil transactions and operational expenditures.
They also revisited long-standing concerns about the controversial rehabilitation of Nigeria’s state-owned refineries, particularly the Port Harcourt Refinery, which they said had consumed billions of dollars in public funds without delivering sustainable refining capacity.
According to the groups, repeated announcements by officials of the national oil company suggesting that the refineries had been successfully rehabilitated ultimately turned out to be misleading when the facilities failed to function as expected.
They claimed that trillions of naira and substantial foreign-currency expenditures were reportedly committed to refinery rehabilitation projects across the country, yet the anticipated results never materialised.
The statement noted that the eventual shutdown of operations at the Port Harcourt Refinery by the new management of the Nigerian National Petroleum Company Limited raised serious questions about the effectiveness of the earlier rehabilitation efforts.
Despite the magnitude of the alleged financial irregularities, the groups lamented that no public official had been successfully prosecuted or jailed in connection with the projects.
Beyond the refinery controversy, the organisations also expressed concern about what they described as a disparity in the enforcement of anti-corruption laws in Nigeria.
They accused the country’s major anti-graft agencies—the Economic and Financial Crimes Commission (EFCC) and the Independent Corrupt Practices and Other Related Offences Commission (ICPC)—of showing greater urgency in cases involving political opponents than in investigations involving high-ranking public officials accused of large-scale economic sabotage.
According to the groups, some members of the immediate past management of the Nigerian National Petroleum Company Limited, including Mele Kyari, were reportedly invited and briefly detained by the Economic and Financial Crimes Commission following their removal from office.
However, they claimed that the detention lasted only a short period and that the Nigerian public has not been informed of any major findings from the investigation since then.
The groups contrasted this situation with what they described as the aggressive prosecution of some political figures outside the ruling All Progressives Congress (APC), many of whom have faced prolonged detention or repeated arrests even after courts granted them bail.
They warned that such disparity creates the perception that anti-corruption enforcement in Nigeria may be selective and politically motivated.
In light of these concerns, the CNPP and the coalition of civil society organisations called for decisive presidential intervention to address the controversy surrounding the finances of the national oil company.
They urged Bola Ahmed Tinubu, President of the Federal Republic of Nigeria, to issue an executive order establishing an independent judicial commission of inquiry into the financial dealings of the Nigerian National Petroleum Company Limited.
According to the groups, the proposed investigation should cover the period from 2015 to date, particularly in view of the fact that the administration of the late Muhammadu Buhari had previously overseen the judicial seizure of assets and recovery of stolen funds from past officials of the national oil company before 2015.
They also demanded a comprehensive forensic audit of the finances, contracts, crude oil transactions and subsidy claims of the company within the same period.
The groups said the probe should further investigate all funds allocated to the rehabilitation of Nigeria’s refineries, including the Port Harcourt Refinery and other federal facilities.
In addition, they insisted that the activities and decisions of the management of the Nigerian National Petroleum Company Limited under the leadership of Mele Kyari must be thoroughly examined.
They further called for the public presentation of the findings of the forensic audit and judicial inquiry, followed by the immediate prosecution of any officials found culpable.
According to the statement, Nigeria cannot afford a situation in which allegations involving trillions of naira generate public outrage but ultimately produce no consequences.
The organisations stressed that if the administration of Bola Ahmed Tinubu is genuinely committed to fighting corruption, the most powerful actors in the country’s most strategic economic institution must be subjected to the same level of scrutiny applied to ordinary citizens and political opponents.
They concluded that only a transparent, impartial and credible investigation can restore public confidence in the management of Nigeria’s petroleum resources.
Until such an independent judicial inquiry and comprehensive forensic audit are carried out, the groups warned that legislative hearings alone would remain insufficient to resolve the deep-rooted concerns surrounding the operations of the Nigerian National Petroleum Company Limited.
