The group also called on President Bola Tinubu as a matter of urgent national importance, to suspend Mele Kyari and carry out full forensic audit of the old NNPC and the new NNPCL under his watch.
The Conference of Nigeria Political Parties (CNPP) has called on the Group Chief Executive Officer of the Nigerian National Petroleum Company Limited, Mele Kyari, to obey a court order and publicly disclose the whereabouts of the proceeds of stolen 48 million barrels of Nigeria's Bonny light crude.
The CNPP made the call in conjunction with allied civil society organisations under the aegis of the coalition of national civil society organisations saying the stolen crude was stored in China since 2015.
Speaking for the CNPP and civil societies, Prof Chris Mustapha Nwaokobia Jnr, who is Convener, Countryfirst movement; James Ezema, the CNPP Deputy National Publicity secretary and Alhaji Ali Abacha, the National secretary, coalition of Nigeria civil society organisation, told newsmen at a press conference in Abuja that the NNPCL had been at the centre of the illegal sale of 48 million barrels of Nigeria’s Bonny Light Crude in China since 2015 valued at 4.8 billion dollars at $100/barrel as leaked by a whistle-blower.
Nwaokobia said beyond preventing lawmakers from carrying out their constitutional oversight functions of probing oil theft cases, using the former Attorney-General of the Federation and Minister of Justice, Abubakar Malami, the NNPCL Group Chief Executive Officer, Mele Kyari has also refused to obey the order of the High Court of the Federal Capital Territory (FCT) to disclose and publish, in the interest of the public, the whereabouts of the proceeds of the sale of the 48 million Barrels of Bonny light Crude Oil Stolen from Nigeria and stored in China under his watch.
According to the Coalition, a Federal High Court judge, Justice F.A. Aliyu, made an order on July 12, 2023 and Since the order was made, till date, Kyari has carried on as though the court did not exist, let alone obeying the court order.
In view of the refusal of the Mele Kolo Kyari-led management of the NNPCL to obey the order of the Court and obvious efforts to frustrate every process that could lead to unravelling the mystery behind the illegal sale of the 48 million barrels of Nigeria’s Bonny Light Crude in China in 2015, valued at $4.8billion dollars as leaked by whistle-blowers, the group demanded for the immediate suspension of the NNPCL’s GCEO to pave way for unhindered investigation into the matter.
The group also called on President Bola Tinubu as a matter of urgent national importance, to suspend Mele Kyari and carry out full forensic audit of the old NNPC and the new NNPCL under his watch.
Recall that in February 2023, an ad hoc committee openly accused the then Attorney General of the Federation (AGF), Abubakar Malami, as well as the INTERPOL, of interference in the committee’s investigation regarding the Exposure.
The Chairman, House Ad hoc Committee on Oil Theft, Mark Gbillah had said, “There is a group called Advocacy for Good Governance and Free Nigeria. That is the so-called Civil Society Organisation that wrote to the Attorney General claiming there was this international gang of blackmailers trying to blackmail senior officials of the government.”