Umar Isa Ajiya, ex-NNPC Limited chief financial officer is currently being detained by the Economic and Financial Crimes Commission (EFCC) over an alleged $7.2 billion refinery rehabilitation scam.
Ajiya’s arrest is linked to the disbursement and suspected mismanagement of funds earmarked for the turnaround maintenance of the Kaduna, Warri, and Port Harcourt refineries.
The EFCC is probing a total of $2,956,872,622.36 released for the projects, broken down as follows: $1,559,239,084.36 for the Port Harcourt Refinery, $740,669,600 for the Kaduna Refinery, and $656,963,938 for the Warri Refinery.
A senior EFCC official, who spoke on condition of anonymity, confirmed Ajiya’s detention, noting that several other past and present NNPC Limited executives are also under investigation for alleged corruption, abuse of office, diversion of public funds, and receiving kickbacks from contractors.
“Our operatives have arrested former NNPCL CFO, Umar Isa Ajiya, over a $7.2 billion fraud tied to the rehabilitation of the Kaduna, Warri, and Port Harcourt refineries,” the official disclosed. “As CFO, he was responsible for overseeing the release of funds for the turnaround maintenance of the three facilities. All officials connected to these projects are being scrutinized.”
