A Federal High Court sitting in Abuja has ordered the temporary freezing of four bank accounts connected to the former Group Managing Director (GMD) of the Nigerian National Petroleum Company Limited (NNPCL), Mele Kyari, following an application by the Economic and Financial Crimes Commission (EFCC) in an ongoing fraud investigation.
The order was issued by Justice Emeka Nwite after EFCC counsel Ogechi Ujam presented an ex parte motion, requesting the court to block the accounts pending the outcome of investigations.
“I have reviewed the application, the affidavit, and the accompanying evidence. The request is meritorious and is therefore granted as prayed,” Justice Nwite ruled.
The case was adjourned to September 23, 2025, for further updates.
According to court documents, the EFCC filed the motion on August 11, 2025, after launching an investigation into a petition dated April 24 from a group called the Guardian of Democracy and Rule of Law, which alleged financial misconduct involving Mr. Kyari.
In a sworn affidavit, Amin Abdullahi, an EFCC investigator, stated that preliminary investigations uncovered questionable financial activity involving four accounts at Jaiz Bank.
Two of the accounts are directly under Mele Kyari’s name, while the other two are registered under a non-governmental organisation, Guwori Community Development Foundation Flood Relief.
The accounts in question are:
Jaiz Bank Account Number: 0017922724 — Mele Kyari
Jaiz Bank Account Number: 0017922724 — Mele Kyari (duplicate number possibly an error or additional entry)
Jaiz Bank Account Number: 0018575055 — Guwori Community Development Foundation Flood Relief
Jaiz Bank Account Number: 0018575141 — Guwori Community Development Foundation Flood Relief
The EFCC alleges that these accounts were used to funnel funds potentially linked to conspiracy, abuse of office, and money laundering.
Investigators claim over ₦661 million in suspicious transactions were traced to the accounts.
Some of the inflows were disguised as donations for a book launch or NGO activities, but are suspected to be proceeds from NNPCL-related deals involving Kyari and unnamed oil companies.
The Commission also alleges that Kyari was using family members to operate the NGO accounts as proxies.
A “no debit” order has already been placed on the accounts, though this will expire in 72 hours without a court order, hence the urgent application to freeze the funds.
EFCC officials say Jaiz Bank has been contacted for detailed account statements and that freezing the accounts is essential to prevent the dissipation of potentially illicit funds while investigations and possible prosecution are underway.
The court emphasized that the freeze is temporary and part of an ongoing investigation.
