Hundreds of Nigerians took to the streets of London on Monday, staging a protest outside the Nigerian High Commission and the UK Home Office.
Under the banner of Rescue Nigeria Now, the demonstrators called for the immediate deportation of Mele Kyari, former Group Chief Executive Officer of the Nigerian National Petroleum Company Limited (NNPCL), over a string of corruption allegations tied to his tenure from 2019 to 2025.
Carrying placards with inscriptions like “Withdraw Mele Kyari’s residency now!”, “Mele Kyari go home and face EFCC now!”, and “London is not for public officials who abused public trust,” the protesters submitted formal petitions to both Nigerian and British authorities.
In their petition to the Nigerian High Commissioner, the group said, “We are profoundly disillusioned and appalled by the effrontery with which Mr. Kyari has been walking in the street of London with impunity, while the tables of the Economic and Financial Crimes Commission (EFCC) and other anti-corruption agencies in Nigeria are flooded with so much petitions, audit queries, and evidences on the many alleged corrupt financial dealings and infraction that have been attached to his tenure which spanned from 2019 to 2025.”
They condemned what they described as diplomatic silence, adding: “We see this as an affront to the people of Nigeria and an insult to the esteemed anti-corruption crusade of the Federal Republic of Nigeria, that an individual of such notoriety whose tenure in NNPCL was marred by unprecedented corruption and international embarrassment should not be allowed to roam freely on British soil without facing the consequences of his actions.”
They described the petition as more than a mere formality, insisting, “Your Excellency, this letter is not merely a petition, it is a demand, A moral, civic, and nationalistic demand. We, therefore, demand in the strongest terms that the Nigerian High Commission in the United Kingdom refrains from according him any form of official reception, recognition, or diplomatic courtesy until he returns to Nigeria to submit himself to the Economic and Financial Crimes Commission (EFCC) and other relevant investigative bodies for the myriad allegations that trail his tenure.”
Among the specific allegations, the petition accused Kyari of mismanaging billions of dollars allocated for refinery rehabilitation.
It stated “It is on record till date that billions of dollars that were ostensibly budgeted for the rehabilitation of Nigeria’s decrepit refineries in Warri, Kaduna and Port Harcourt just unaccountably vanished into a bureaucratic abyss under the leadership of Mr. Kyari. While the nation was waiting expectantly for positive results, it was unfortunate that no tangible infrastructural improvement or reasonable output has been recorded as a justification to the gargantuan expenditures being made.”
They further noted: “At present, the forensic opacity that surrounded these rehabilitation contracts which have collectively impoverished the nation and eroded public trust in governance has been a point of convergence and sensitivity to several anti-corruption watchdogs and international observers who have described the NNPCL under Kyari as an impenetrable black box.”
In another sharp accusation, they alleged Kyari presided over a corrupt fuel subsidy regime: “Under Kyari’s leadership, the controversial fuel subsidy regime mysteriously shrouded in confusion, crony capitalism, and unexplainable contradictions. Opaque subsidy payments of over trillions of naira were disbursed under the pretext of cushioning fuel costs. Yet, these payments lacked empirical substantiation and transparency on how it was spent.”
Highlighting the human cost, the group lamented, “Ordinary Nigerians were the ones that continued to suffer from the effects of fluctuating pump prices, artificial scarcity being created from his recklessness, and the nationwide persistent fuel queues that hit the country, a phenomenon that outrightly became emblematic of governance failure.”
They also addressed their concerns to the UK Home Office, warning that allowing Kyari to remain in Britain could undermine international anti-corruption commitments.
“We are aware that Mr. Kyari is currently residing in the United Kingdom, a development he carefully orchestrated to evade facing justice in Nigeria for numerous acts of corruption and shady dealings that took place during his tenure,” they wrote.
Accusing him of laundering funds through UK banks, the group said, “We have cause to believe that for Mr. Kyari to have fled to the United Kingdom, he has transferred parts of the proceeds of his crimes to bank accounts in London, which would be a violation of anti-money laundering legislation in your country.”
They concluded with an appeal to British authorities: “The United Kingdom and Nigeria have established reciprocal treaties and agreements to curtail their citizens from willfully engaging in corruption and other criminal activities… We hereby request that the Home Office expel Mr. Mele Kyari so that he can return to Nigeria. It is imperative that he faces justice for his actions and that the stolen funds are recovered to aid in the nation’s recovery and development.”
