The Senate Committee on Public Accounts, on Wednesday, ordered the arrest of the immediate past Group Chief Executive Officer of the Nigerian National Petroleum Company Limited, Mele Kyari, for failing to appear before it over allegations of N210tn unaccounted funds between 2017 and 2023.
The directive followed Kyari’s repeated absence from an investigative hearing probing queries raised by the Office of the Auditor-General of the Federation over the company’s financial records during the period under review.
However, former Chief Financial Officer of the NNPCL, Umar Ajiya Isa, challenged the allegations before the committee, insisting that no funds were missing and describing the N210tn figure as misleading when compared with the company’s actual earnings within the period.
The arrest warrant was issued after lawmakers ruled against further delay in the investigation.
During the sitting, Saliu Mustapha (Kwara Central) and Tony Nwoye (Anambra North) appealed for caution, urging the committee to grant Kyari another opportunity to appear, noting that he was reportedly ill and receiving treatment in Germany.
But their plea was strongly opposed by other members of the committee, who insisted that the investigation must proceed without further delay and demanded the issuance of a warrant of arrest.
Abdul Ningi (Bauchi Central) argued that verbal excuses should not be accepted without documented proof of illness, a position later supported by Victor Umeh (Anambra Central), who formally moved the motion for Kyari’s arrest.
