Kyari’ probe: We were misled, say protesters

Barely a week after staging a protest calling for the probe and prosecution of the former Group Chief Executive Officer (GCEO) of the Nigerian National Petroleum Company Limited (NNPCL), Mallam Mele Kyari, a coalition of civil society organisations has made a U-turn, withdrawing all allegations and saying it no longer want the former NNPCL helmsman investigated.

The group under the auspices of Concerned Citizens Against Corruption (CCAC), had last week led a protest to the office of the Attorney General of the Federation and Minister of Justice, Lateef Fagbemi (SAN), to call for the prosecution of Kyari.

The coalition during the protest lamented that despite the dismissal of Kyari and the entire NNPCL board by President Bola Tinubu on April 2 2025, no steps have been taken to investigate the alleged corrupt practices under the former GCEO’s leadership.

But addressing a press conference in Abuja on Thursday, convener of the CCAC, comrade Kabir Matazu, admitted that its April 23 protest at the Federal Ministry of Justice was hasty, premature, and lacking in facts.

He claimed that the earlier decision by the group to launch a nationwide protest and demand the probe of the Kyari was driven by limited understanding of the strategic intents and works of the NNPC as a limited liability company.

Matazu said the group acted on misinformation provided by individuals with questionable motives, particularly naming, Philip Agbese, the House of Representatives member representing Ado/Okpokwu/Ogbadibo Federal Constituency 1 as one of those who misled them into making unfounded accusations.

According to him, having consulted widely and reviewed the facts, “we are convinced that Kyari acted within the scope of his responsibilities and in accordance with due process”.

His words: “As responsible corporate citizens, we and all our Civil Society partners who organized a protest on 23rd April 2025 against Mallam Mele Kyari have taken the hard decision of admitting that our earlier decision to launch a nationwide protest and demand the probe of the Ex-NNPLC boss was driven by our limited understanding of the strategic intents and works of the NNPC as a limited liability company under the leadership of Mele Kyari. Our action was therefore hasty, premature and lacking in facts.

“Despite our constructive and patriotic intentions which were aimed at fostering accountability and transparency in governance, we were misled by those we trusted to provide us with the basic facts.

“Particularly, Hon. Philip Agbese provided ill-concieved and misguided information to our group. Indeed, no amount of apology will compensate for the damage caused by our own admissible errors and outings.

“It is highly regrettable that, despite our best efforts, we were dragged unknowingly into the allegation about a crude deal with Matrix Energy by individuals with unpatriotic intentions. We admit in humility that it is statutory for NNPCL, whether under Kyari or the new management to enter into business agreements.

“There is nothing illegal about what the company did under Mallam Mele Kyari as we were erroneously made to believe. NNPLC is sanctioned at the highest authorities to enter into such deals and if there are issues, it will be handled appropriately in close coordination with the Ministry of Petroleum.

The group further praised Kyari’s leadership during his time at NNPCL, noting his role in the transformation of the organisation, the unbundling of the company, the return to profitability, and efforts to revive Nigeria’s long-dormant refineries.

“Mr. Mele Kyari with accumulated years of professional expertise also supervised and coordinated transformation efforts that led to the take off of local refining, including giving all support thereto. The revival of Nigeria’s decades-long moribund local public refineries are all traceable to his selfless and professional wit.That record cannot be twisted and we did not set out to twist them except that we were misled.

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position of credible labour unions and interest groups in the petroleum sector such as Trade Union Congress (TUC), Petroleum and Natural Gas Senior Staff Association of Nigeria (PENGASSAN), Nigeria Union of Petroleum and Natural Gas Workers (NUPENG) clearly shows we acted out of ignorance. Whereas accountability is the watchword of public service, we have now come to the realization that we acted without due diligence and alone as all stakeholders have vehemently refuted our claims with hard facts.

“let it be known that, we are retracting our petition and position prior stated at the protest. We are not condoning corruption but simply acknowledging, an incorruptible man was targeted wrongly and we apologize. We celebrate the fact that under Kyari, Nigeria battled oil theft to a standstill, moving crude production from less than 1 million barrels per day to about 2 million barrels per day.

“Again, after a careful thought and with the progress made in the petroleum sector so far under the current administration, we have come to the conclusion that from professional information, the amount of money spent on the rehabilitation of Nigeria’s ailing refineries was not too much but quite considerate.

“The fact that these refineries are working at almost full capacity has weakened our position the more and it will be grossly unpatriotic to continue to hold onto such misleading narratives as that will affect our reputation as fair umpires and watchdogs of the society.

“Therefore, we call on all Nigerians, especially those who believed our misinformed position that our plan and action was unjustified and we hereby denounce our actions and retract the misguided allegations. This should in no way mean that we are backtracking on our core mandate and mission but to strengthen position as a credible, reliable and a dependable voice in the Nigerian polity. We shall be more scrupulous in our subsequent outings.”