By Comfort Olayinka
Barely 24 hour after the Young Professionals Forum besieged the Embassy of the Saudi Arabia in Abuja, asking the Saudis authority to deny former Group Chief Executive Officer (GCEO) of Nigerian National Petroleum Company Limited (NNPCL), Mallam Mele Kyari, entry into the country, the group has taken their protest to the embassy of the United States of America.
The group stormed the US embassy in Abuja on Friday in a procession from the Ship House (Ministry of Defence), through the Diplomatic Lane in the Central Business District (CBD), carrying placards some of which read, “Bring Mele Kyari to Book’; Kyari has Sold us to his Friends and Cronies; Justice for our Refineries”.
The Young Professionals Forum submitted a petition with the title, “Request To Deny Entry Into The United States For A Person Of Interest, Mr. Mele Kolo Kyari, Over Abuse Of Office, Misappropriation Of Funds And Suspected Terrorism Financing”.
The petition which was signed by Barr. Sambari Benjamin, the Convener and Comrade John Ndubuokwu,
Organizing Secretary reads in parts:
“The Young Professionals Forum of Nigeria is constrained to approach Your Excellency in a matter that Nigerians have decided to be of great concern, with the potential to have existential consequences for citizens if not urgently and appropriately addressed.
“The issue in question is regarding a person of interest, Mr. Mele Kolo Kyari, who is the immediate past Group Chief Executive Officer of the Nigerian National Petroleum Corporation Limited (NNPCL), who is central to ongoing investigations into grand corruption, abuse of office, misappropriation of funds and terrorism financing in Nigeria.
“We are thus aware that Mr. Kyari, in his desperation to evade justice, will attempt seeking refuge in the United States as refugees fleeing a supposed persecution or as a high-net-worth investor. This would be injustice to Nigerians who are enduring hardship or dying from terrorists’ attacks, situations promoted by Mr. Kyari’s activities and massive corruption.
“We consequently appeal, through Your Excellency, to the United States to deny Mr. Mele Kolo Kyari entry into your jurisdiction until such a time as investigation into his tenure is completed and he is given a clean bill of health. This will enable the United States to maintain its stature as a shining example of accountable actions”.
Briefing newsmen while submitting the petition, Barr. Sambari emphasized that every attempt by Kyari to evade justice on the NNPCL corruption probe by fleeing the country must be resisted by all.
Barr. Sambari said they are aware that Kyari is shopping for a third country to the United States as his preferred destination as he plans to exploit the high respect for human rights in your country as a bulwark against being returned to Nigeria to stand trial.
Highlighting Kyari’s crimes against Nigeria, Nigerians and humanity, the petitioner stated, “In the more than five years that Mr. Kyari was in charge, he systematically torpedoed the Nigerian economy by engaging in subversive acts that included a refusal to remit revenue due to the country.
“The World Bank, in its Nigeria Development Update report for 2024 confirmed that Kyari’s leadership of NNPCL only remitted N500 billion to the Federation Account, despite savings from the removal of Premium Motor Spirit (PMS) subsidy.
“The report further confirmed that Mr. Kyari doled out another N500 billion to his cronies and associates under the guise of settling debt arrears. This criminal behaviour implied that Mr. Kyari led a posse that cornered the entire savings from the removal of the petrol subsidy. The government was left without adequate funds to provide the social safety net that would have mitigated the hardship resulting from this laudable reform.
Continuing he said, “A consequence of this development is that more Nigerians are pushed into becoming economic refugees, with many irregularly migrating to the US to escape the harsh economic conditions precipitated by Kyari’s kind of corruption. We are conscious of the cost implications to the US Government for managing such irregular migration”.
The Young Professionals said they have reason to believe that a large chunk of the money missing from the NNPCL under Mr. Kyari’s watch went into financing terrorism, adding that “In some instances, these funds were passed through religious based organisations as charitable donations but eventually ended up in the hands of terrorists, which Mr. Kyari was fully aware of”.
“Your Excellency, we further invite you to note that Mr. Kyari willfully violated the United States imposed sanctions on Russia. Through his associates, he facilitated the procurement of Russian-sourced crude above the stipulated thresholds which was then refined in Malta and shipped to Nigeria. This was another incentive for sabotaging the repairs of Nigerian refineries”.
