This is not just another political drama. This is a story about Nigeria's oil money — the lifeblood of the nation — and whether the people entrusted to manage it can be held accountable.
Here is everything you need to know.
WHO IS MELE KYARI?
Mele Kyari served as the Group Chief Executive Officer of the NNPCL from 2019 until he was replaced in 2024. Before that, he served in various senior capacities within the company going back years. During his tenure, NNPCL underwent a major transformation, most notably its conversion from the old Nigerian National Petroleum Corporation to NNPC Limited under the Petroleum Industry Act. He was widely regarded as a technocrat and oil industry insider.
Today, however, his name is at the centre of a parliamentary storm.
WHAT IS THE ₦210 TRILLION ALLEGATION?
The Senate Committee on Public Accounts has been investigating 19 audit queries raised by the Office of the Auditor-General of the Federation concerning NNPCL's financial records between 2017 and 2023. Among the most alarming of those queries is an allegation that ₦210 trillion in company funds could not be properly accounted for during that period.
To put that figure into perspective, Nigeria's entire federal budget for 2024 was approximately ₦28 trillion. The alleged unaccounted sum is nearly eight times that amount.
If the allegation were true, it would represent one of the most breathtaking financial irregularities in Nigerian — and arguably African — history.
The committee also raised questions about ₦5.8 billion reportedly spent on the rebranding and registration of NNPC Limited.
WHY WAS KYARI ARRESTED — OR RATHER, WHY WAS AN ARREST ORDERED?
According to lawmakers, this was not the first time Kyari was invited to appear before the committee. Wednesday, June 10, marked the ninth sitting of the committee on these 19 audit queries. Kyari failed to appear at the hearing, and senators say this was not the first time he had done so.
Senator Victor Umeh, representing Anambra North, moved the formal motion for the arrest warrant.
Deputy Committee Chairman Peter Nwaebonyi backed it strongly, declaring: "Mr Chairman, the time to issue a warrant of arrest against Mele Kyari is now because the committee must conclude its assignment and report back to the Senate."
Former Edo State Governor and Senator Adams Oshiomhole also threw his weight behind the motion, arguing that the Senate must enforce compliance with its summons to maintain its authority and credibility.
Following a voice vote, Committee Chairman Senator Ibrahim Dankwambo of Gombe North declared: "Wherever Mele Kyari is, he should be arrested and brought before this committee."
KYARI'S RESPONSE — THE MEDICAL CARD
Hours after the arrest order was announced, Kyari's camp fired back.
In a letter dated June 10, 2026, obtained by several Nigerian news outlets, Kyari expressed shock at the warrant. He said he had previously written to the committee as far back as May 8, 2026 — and that the letter was received on May 11 — informing lawmakers that he was outside Nigeria receiving medical treatment and was physically unable to attend the hearing.
Kyari says he is currently in Germany for medical care. Some senators, including Saliu Mustapha of Kwara Central and Tony Nwoye of Anambra North, had earlier urged the committee to consider granting him more time given the medical reports.
Their appeal, however, was rejected by the majority of committee members who insisted that claims of illness must be backed by official documentation and that further delays could not be tolerated.
THE DEFENCE — "NO MONEY IS MISSING"
While Kyari was absent, former NNPCL Chief Financial Officer Umar Ajiya Isa appeared before the committee and mounted a spirited defence. He flatly denied that any money was missing, and challenged the mathematical logic of the allegation head-on.
"₦210 trillion is an enormous sum," Ajiya told the committee. "NNPCL's total revenue in the period under review was about ₦54.5 trillion, even before deducting production costs. It is impossible for ₦210 trillion to be missing or unaccounted for."
He also addressed the ₦5.8 billion rebranding claim, describing it as false and damaging. He warned that inflammatory allegations of this nature could have real consequences — citing as an example how a petition had already disrupted Chinese financing for the Ajaokuta-Kaduna-Kano Gas Pipeline, a critical national infrastructure project.
"If money had gone missing at NNPC during our tenure," Ajiya said, "we would not have had the courage to publish audited accounts. For over 40 years, those accounts were either not prepared, not made public, or not even shared with the Auditor-General."
WHY DOES THIS MATTER TO EVERY NIGERIAN?
Oil money sits at the heart of Nigeria's economy.
The NNPCL is responsible for managing the country's petroleum resources, and for decades, it operated with limited transparency. The Petroleum Industry Act was partly introduced to change that.
What is now unfolding in the Senate is arguably the most serious test of whether that change is real or merely cosmetic.
If ₦210 trillion truly passed through NNPCL's books without adequate documentation between 2017 and 2023, it raises urgent questions. Where did the money go? Who authorised what? Were Nigerians shortchanged at the pump, in subsidies, in infrastructure?
Even if the figure is an accounting discrepancy or an auditing misunderstanding — as Ajiya insists — the reluctance of former top officials to appear before a legitimate Senate committee sends a terrible signal to ordinary Nigerians who are already struggling with rising fuel prices, electricity failures, and a weakening naira.
For every Nigerian who has paid more at the filling station, every family that has sat in darkness because PHCN could not deliver power, and every community whose road has not been fixed — this story is personal.
WHAT HAPPENS NEXT?
Security agencies have now been officially directed by the Senate to arrest Mele Kyari and produce him before the committee.
Whether that order will be swiftly executed remains to be seen. Nigeria has a complicated history when it comes to the enforcement of legislative directives against powerful former officials.
What is clear is that the political temperature around this case is rising. The 2027 general elections are looming, and accountability in the oil sector has become a defining issue for voters. Several civil society organisations and anti-corruption groups are already calling for a full independent forensic audit of NNPCL's books going back to at least 2015.
The current NNPCL leadership under new Group CEO Bayo Ojulari is also expected to continue cooperating with the committee's investigation.
OUR VERDICT
This story is far from over. Whether Kyari is arrested, whether he returns from abroad, and whether the full picture of NNPCL's finances during his tenure ever emerges — these are questions that will define a significant chapter in Nigeria's anti-corruption story. NaijaToday will continue to follow this case closely and bring you every development as it happens.
Stay informed. Stay engaged. This is your money.
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Written by the NaijaToday Politics Desk | June 10, 2026
