The case involving the Economic and Financial Crimes Commission (EFCC) and the immediate-past Group Managing Director of the Nigerian National Petroleum Company Limited (NNPCL), Mele Kyari, has been transferred to the registry for reassignment.
Justice Emeka Nwite of the Federal High Court, Abuja, made the decision in respect of the matter marked FHC/ABJ/CS/1641/2025, which was earlier scheduled for a compliance report on September 23, according to the News Agency of Nigeria.
The development followed an earlier order that temporarily froze four Jaiz Bank accounts linked to Kyari. The EFCC, through its counsel, Ogechi Ujam, informed Justice Nwite on the last adjourned date that investigations were ongoing and that the commission required more time to finalize its findings.
“That there is need to preserve the funds in the identified bank accounts pending the conclusion of investigation and possible prosecution,” EFCC said in its application.
The commission had argued that the bank accounts in question were under investigation in relation to misappropriation of funds and criminal breach of trust.
It also stated that preliminary findings revealed the accounts were connected to Kyari, “who is currently being investigated in a case involving the offences of conspiracy, abuse of office and money laundering pending the conclusion of the investigation.”
An affidavit by EFCC investigator, Amin Abdullahi, said, “That N661,464,601.50 (Six Hundred and Sixty One Million, Four Hundred and ) which are suspected to be proceeds of unlawful activities warehoused in four different accounts.”
“These funds were traced to the suspect Mele Kolo Kyari, who is the former Group Managing Director (GMD) of Nigerian National Petroleum Corporation (NNPC),” the investigator stated.
He added: “The suspect opened various accounts in Jaiz Bank which has been used to receive suspicious inflows from NNPC and various oil companies that have dealings with NNPC. The bank records revealed that these accounts are controlled and managed by Kyari through his family members who are acting as fronts.”
“Further investigation revealed that the said transactions in the various accounts were disguised as payments for a purported book launch and activities of a non-governmental organisation (NGO),” Mr Abdullahi said.
Justice Nwite, having presided over the matter during the vacation period, left the case to be reassigned. The Chief Judge of the Federal High Court, Justice John Tsoho, may reassign the file back to Justice Nwite or another judge, exercising his discretionary powers.