The Economic and Financial Crimes Commission (EFCC) has arrested Umar Isa, a former Chief Financial Officer (CFO) of the Nigerian National Petroleum Company (NNPC) Limited, over an alleged $7.2 billion fraud linked to the rehabilitation of Nigeria’s three major refineries.
Sources familiar with the investigation disclosed that the arrest is part of a widening probe into the massive funds released for the turnaround maintenance of the Kaduna, Warri, and Port Harcourt refineries. Isa, who supervised disbursements during his tenure as CFO, is being questioned over alleged abuse of office, corruption, diversion of public funds, and receipt of kickbacks from contractors.
Jimoh Olasunkanmi, a former Managing Director of the Warri Refining and Petrochemical Company, has also been detained, with investigators focusing on discrepancies in project execution, delayed deliverables, and inflated contract payments.
“Others under investigation include Tunde Bakare, the current Managing Director of Warri Refinery; Ahmed Adamu Dikko, a former Managing Director of Port Harcourt Refinery; and Ibrahim Monday Onoja, also a former MD of the same facility,” a source familiar with the probe disclosed.
The arrests come amid growing public scrutiny of NNPC’s turnaround maintenance efforts, especially at the Port Harcourt refinery, where years of rehabilitation have yielded limited results.
NNPC was struggling to complete the revamp of the Port Harcourt Refining Company (PHRC), despite repeated assurances and multibillion-dollar spending.
The PHRC operates two plants: an older refinery with a 60,000 barrels per stream day (bpsd) capacity, and a newer one rated at 150,000 bpsd—bringing the total processing potential to 210,000 bpsd.
On November 26, 2024, the older plant resumed crude oil processing after years of inactivity. However, a month later, the NNPC was forced to deny reports that the plant had already been shut down again.
The Petroleum Products Retail Outlets Owners Association of Nigeria (PETROAN) raised fresh concerns in May 2025, urging the government to expedite rehabilitation of all three refineries—Port Harcourt, Warri, and Kaduna.
Five days after PETROAN’s call, PHRC announced a temporary shutdown of operations for additional maintenance.
The EFCC’s ongoing probe is expected to deepen as investigators trace payments, audit contractor records, and scrutinize procurement processes that have long plagued Nigeria’s ailing downstream infrastructure.