Nigeria's Senate has ordered the arrest of Mele Kyari, the former Group Chief Executive Officer of the Nigerian National Petroleum Company Limited. The warrant came down on Wednesday from the Public Accounts Committee.
Kyari ignored an invitation to explain nearly N210 trillion in unaccounted expenditures. The money spans the period from 2017 to 2023, according to audit findings.
Senate investigators had summoned NNPC leadership to respond to queries raised by the Auditor-General for the Federation. Current GCEO Bayo Ojulari was expected to lead the delegation before lawmakers.
Kyari's absence at Wednesday's resumed hearing angered committee members. They saw it as disrespect to the legislative process.
Senator Victor Umeh moved the motion for his arrest. "Kyari should be here," Umeh told the chamber during proceedings.
In his words: "We cannot wait for him to appear before us at his convenience." Umeh stressed the seriousness of the missing funds.
"It is a national emergency," the senator added. He argued that Kyari must return from wherever he was traveling.
Umeh painted a picture of a nation in financial distress. "We are talking about trillions of naira.
The country is not faring well," he said.
He questioned what happened to the massive sums. Access to such funds would have solved Nigeria's challenges, he insisted.
Not all senators agreed with the urgency. Tony Nwoye countered that Kyari had promised to appear before the committee.
Nwoye revealed fresh information about the former NNPC boss. According to him, Kyari is currently hospitalized in Germany.
"I spoke to Mele Kyari a week ago," Nwoye told colleagues. He said Kyari had given his word to attend the resumed session.
"But I learnt last night that the man is hospitalized in Germany," Nwoye explained to the chamber.
His intervention didn't sway the committee's direction. Senator Onyekachi Nwaebonyi rejected Nwoye's defense of the former executive.
Nwaebonyi noted that Nwoye was not serving as Kyari's lawyer. He shouldn't be making excuses for his absence, he argued.
The record showed something alarming. Kyari had snubbed the committee's summons nine times in succession.
Nwaebonyi seconded Umeh's arrest motion immediately. He backed the call for the warrant to proceed.
Committee chairman Ibrahim Dankambo put the matter to a voice vote. Members voted unanimously to approve the arrest warrant.
The decision marks an escalation in the investigation. Lawmakers are determined to get answers about the massive discrepancy.
Kyari's next move remains unclear as the warrant takes effect. He faces pressure to return and face questioning.
