Ex-NNPCL CFO arrested over alleged $7.2 billion refinery fraud

By Luminous Jannamike

ABUJA — The Economic and Financial Crimes Commission (EFCC) has arrested Umar Ajiya Isa, a former Chief Financial Officer (CFO) of the Nigerian National Petroleum Company Limited (NNPCL), over an alleged $7.2 billion fraud related to the rehabilitation of Nigeria’s major refineries.

Sources within the EFCC confirmed on Monday that Isa is being investigated for alleged abuse of office, corruption, diversion of public funds, and receiving kickbacks from contractors involved in the turnaround maintenance of the Port Harcourt, Kaduna, and Warri refineries.

According to one EFCC official who spoke on condition of anonymity, the arrest is part of a sweeping probe into the mismanagement of billions of dollars allocated for refinery overhauls—a chronic issue that has plagued Nigeria’s oil sector for decades.

“Our operatives have arrested a former Chief Financial Officer of the NNPCL, Umar Ajiya Isa, in connection with an alleged $7.2 billion fraud,” the source said.

The EFCC is reportedly scrutinizing the disbursement of:

$1.56 billion for the Port Harcourt Refinery,

$740 million for Kaduna Refinery, and

$656 million for Warri Refinery — totaling approximately $2.96 billion in focus so far.

As CFO, Isa was responsible for authorizing the release of funds for these rehabilitation projects.

Other top officials currently under investigation include:

Tunde Bakare, Managing Director of the Warri Refinery,

Ahmed Adamu Dikko, former Managing Director of the Port Harcourt Refinery,

Ibrahim Monday Onoja, also a former MD of the Port Harcourt Refinery,

and Jimoh Olasunkanmi, a former MD of the Warri Refinery, who is reportedly also in EFCC custody.

Efforts to obtain a response from EFCC spokesperson Dele Oyewale were unsuccessful as of press time.

The development marks a significant escalation in the ongoing probe into alleged financial misconduct in Nigeria’s petroleum sector.