The decision by the Economic and Financial Crimes Commission (EFCC) to exclude the Chief Financial Officer (CFO) of the Nigerian National Petroleum Company Limited (NNPCL), Mr. Adedapo Segun, from the ongoing probe of the national oil company is puzzling, a coalition of Civil Society Organizations (CSOs) have said.
According to a letter by the EFCC dated April 28, 2025, the anti-graft agency said it was probing the handling of finances and contracts related to the Port Harcourt and Warri refineries, and had consequently beamed it’s searchlight on such issues as salary records and allowances of 14 key officials involved in the rehabilitation of both refineries.
The EFCC probe, according to a letter titled ‘Investigation activities request for Information’ on the alleged abuse of office and misappropriation of funds. prompted the anti-graft agency to ask NNPCL’s current leadership to provide certified documentation on certain current and former officials.
Among the names listed in the letter are the former Group Chief Executive Officer (GCEO), Mele Kyari; the former Managing Director of the Port Harcourt Refining Company Limited (PHRC), Ibrahim Onoja; and the former Managing Director of Kaduna Refining and Petrochemical Company (KRPC), Mustafa Sugungun.
Others on the list include a former Group Managing Director of NNPC, Abubakar Yar’Adua; a former NNPC group executive director, finance & services; Isiaka Abdulrazak; a former Chief Financial Officer NNPC Limited, Umar Ajiya; the former Managing Director of the PHRC, Dikko Ahmed; a power plant engineer at PHRC, Ademoye Jelili; Manager Production at NNPC/KRPC, Efiok Akpan; Kayode Adetokunbo, Babatunde Bakare, Jimoh Olasunkanmi, Bello Kankaya and Desmond Inyama.
However, the glaring ommission of Adedapo Segun from persons of interest to the EFCC has cast a shadow of doubt on the true motive of the probe, the CSOs alleged.
“We are shocked that such a list could be compiled with the name Adedapo Segun missing. What then are you probing? He was the Executive Vice President (Downstream). As the EVP, downstream, he was at the time directly in charge of treasury, refinery operations, shipping, and trading. That the EFCC didn’t invite him shows that there’s more to the invitation than meets the eye,” John Ochacho, coordinator of Nigeria Transparency Initiative (NTI) told The Authority.
He continued, “We have to be careful with what we are doing and intend to achieve. If the aim is to truly to probe how the refineries were run, we have no problem with that. However, if the aim is to achieve a predetermined agenda, then we have a huge problem in our hands.
“How come EFCC is inviting all the persons they were told were involved, but conveniently left out Adedapo Segun, who, clearly, is the elephant in the room? How come Mr. President literarily fired every officer except him? Not only was he spared, he was compensated with the position of Chief Financial Officer, ” lamented Ochacho.
“Even the way fake news have been churned out in the past few days clearly shows that there are some persons pulling the strings. First, they came up with the story that the EFCC arrested some former officers, including Kyari.
“They also spun the story that EFCC found ₦80 billion in the account of another ex-official. All these turned out to be lies. It is clear these lies aren’t coming from the EFCC, because the EFCC we know wouldn’t plant falsehood to embarrass themselves. This is the handiwork of fifth columnists and our worry is that EFCC may be inadvertently playing out their script.
“Contracts for the rehabilitation of refineries is a very complex one that involves several stages. If the agenda is to nail a certain individual, then the idea is dead on arrival because we all know that the process couldn’t have begun with one individual,” he noted, adding, “it is high time EFCC stopped pursuing a witch hunt and shadows in the name of a probe.”
Also speaking, Ibrahim Chata, coordinator, Foundation for Ethics in Governance (FEG) picked holes in the EFCC letter, saying there was a hidden agenda behind the probe.
He stated, “It is wrong to allow individuals with vested interests call the shots for EFCC. The way the media space was taken over by fake news on the former NNPCL officials indicates that there was an agenda ab-initio. Clearly the voice is Jacob’s, but the hands are the hands of Esau.
“Also wrong to allow individuals with vested interests call the shots for EFCC. The way the media space was taken over by fake news on the former NNPCL officials indicates that there was an agenda ab-initio. Clearly the voice is Jacob’s, but the hands are the hands of Esau,” he declared.