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SERAP Urges NNPCL to Account for Missing N22.3bn, $49.7m, £14.3m, €5.2m Oil Money
The Socio-Economic Rights and Accountability Project (SERAP) has urged Bayo Bashir Ojulari, Group Chief Executive Officer of the Nigerian National Petroleum Company Limited (NNPCL) to “account for the alleged missing N22.3 billion, USD$49.7 million, £14.3 million and €5.2 million oil money, as documented in the recently published 2022 annual report by the Auditor-General of the Federation.”
According to the SERAP the annual report was published on 9 September 2025.
The SERAP urged Ojulari “to identify those responsible for the diverted or misappropriated oil money and hand them over to the Independent Corrupt Practices and Other Related Offences Commission (ICPC) and the Economic and Financial Crimes Commission (EFCC) for prosecution, as appropriate.”
The SERAP also urged Ojulari “to ensure the full recovery and return of the diverted or misappropriated N22.3 billion, USD$49.7 million, £14.3 million and €5.2 million oil money to the treasury without further delay.”
In the letter dated 25 October 2025 and signed by SERAP’s deputy director, Kolawole Oluwadare, the organisation said: “These grim allegations by the Auditor-General suggest a grave violation of the public trust, the Nigerian Constitution 1999 [as amended], anticorruption laws, and the country’s international obligations.”
The SERAP said, “The allegations have also undermined the economic development of the country, trapped the majority of Nigerians in poverty and deprived them of opportunities.”
According to the SERAP, “The Auditor-General has for many years documented reports of disappearance of oil money from the NNPCL. Nigerians continue to bear the brunt of these missing oil money meant to provide essential public services for Nigerians.”
The letter, read in part: “Combating the corruption epidemic in the oil sector would alleviate poverty, improve access of Nigerians to basic public goods and services, and enhance the ability of the government to meet its human rights and anti-corruption obligations.”
“Despite the country’s enormous oil wealth, ordinary Nigerians have derived very little benefit from oil money primarily because of the widespread grand corruption including in the NNPCL, and the entrenched culture of impunity of perpetrators.”
“The diverted or misappropriated oil revenues reflect a failure of NNPCL accountability more generally and are directly linked to the institution’s continuing failure to uphold the principles of transparency and accountability.”
“The diverted or misappropriated oil revenues have further damaged the already precarious economy and contributed to very high levels of deficit spending and borrowing by the government.”
“Had the NNPCL accounted for and remitted the diverted or misappropriated oil money and returned it to the treasury, it is likely that more funds would have been allocated to the fulfillment of economic and social rights of Nigerians, such as increased spending on education and healthcare.”
“The level of borrowing by the government would also have been reduced.”
“We would be grateful if the recommended measures are taken within 7 days of the receipt and/or publication of this letter. If we have not heard from you by then, SERAP shall consider appropriate legal actions to compel the NNPCL to comply with our requests in the public interest.”
“According to the 2022 audited report by the Auditor General of the Federation, published on 9 September 2025, the Nigerian National Petroleum Corporation Limited (NNPCL) failed to account for over N22.3 billion, USD$49.7 million, £14.3 million and €5.2 million oil money.”
“The Auditor-General fears that the money may have been ‘diverted.’”
“The NNPCL in 2020 reportedly paid over N292 million [N292,609,972.29] ‘for a contract to construct an Accident and Emergency Facility along Airport Road, Abuja.’ But ‘the contractor has abandoned the contract, and failed to execute the job, despite collecting the fee.’”
“The Auditor-General fears the contract money may have been ‘diverted’. He wants the money ‘recovered from the contractor and remitted to the treasury.’”
“The NNPCL in 2021 also reportedly spent over GBP£14 million [£14,322,426.59] ‘to repair its London office.’ But ‘there was no evidence to show that the money was actually spent, and no documents of any spending’.”
“The Auditor-General fears ‘the money may have been diverted or misappropriated.’ He wants the money recovered and remitted to the treasury.”
“The NNPCL also ‘irregularly paid’ over USD$22 million [$22,842,938.28] to a contractor for lifting 9 cargoes of crude oil.’ The NNPCL ‘failed to explain why the amount due to it from crude from January to October 2019 was only $4,858,997.22 and why the contractor got over $22 million for crude for the same period.’”
“The Auditor-General fears ‘the money may be missing’. He wants the money recovered and remitted to the treasury.”
“The NNPCL in 2021 ‘irregularly paid N2.3 billion [N2,379,488,622.99] as car cash option to 100 staff’ but ‘without the approval of the National Salaries, Incomes and Wages Commission’, and ‘without any document to show that the 100 staff applied for the cash options and any rationale for the payments.’”
“The Auditor-General fears ‘the money may have been diverted’. He wants the money recovered and remitted to the treasury.”
“The NNPCL in 2021 also reportedly ‘failed to deduct statutory taxes of over N247 million [N247,181,597.92] from payments made to contractors and service providers.’ The NNPCL also ‘failed to deduct statutory taxes of over USD$529,000 [$529,863.24] from payments made to contractors and service providers.’”
“The Auditor-General fears ‘the money may have been diverted.’ He wants the money recovered and remitted to the treasury.”
“The NNPCL ‘paid over N3 billion [N3,445,022,107.40] for various services’ but ‘without any documents or trace’. The Auditor-General fears ‘the money may have diverted’. He wants the money recovered and remitted to the treasury.”
“The NNPCL ‘irregularly renewed a contract for over USD$1 million [$1,801,500.00] for charter hire of coastal vessel.’ The money was paid ‘before the consummation of a formal contract ratification. The Auditor-General wants ‘the money recovered and remitted to the treasury.’”
“The NNPCL also ‘irregularly paid a contractor over N355 million [N355,436,310.42] as consultancy fees for negotiating and securing waiver to avoid demurrage on abandoned cargoes.’ The Auditor-General wants ‘the money recovered and remitted to the treasury.’”
“The NNPCL ‘paid over N474 million [N474,462,744.53] to a contractor for the connection of Kaduna Refining and Petrochemical Company Limited to the National Grid.’ The Auditor-General is concerned ‘the money may have been lost’. He wants the money recovered and remitted to the treasury.”
“The NNPCL ‘paid over USD$2 million [$2,006,293.20] to a contractor for the rehabilitation and upgrade of system-depot project’, but ‘without any documents’. The NNPCL also ‘paid over N478 million [N478,505,300.00] to a contractor for the rehabilitation and upgrade of system-depot project’, but ‘without any documents’.”
“The Auditor-General fears that ‘the payments may be for fictitious claims.’ He wants ‘the money recovered and remitted to the treasury.”
“The NNPCL in 2019 ‘awarded a contract for over USD$8 million [$8, 211,432.00] ‘for the emergency procurement and installation of custody transfer meters on crude oil and product pipelines at eleven locations.’”
“The Auditor-General fears that ‘the payments may be for work not executed.’ He wants ‘the money recovered and remitted to the treasury.”
“The NNPCL ‘irregularly paid over €5 million [€5,165,426.26] to a contractor for the operation and maintenance of Atlas Cove Jetty Facility’ but ‘without any documents.’ The Auditor-General fears that ‘the money may have been diverted’. He wants ‘the money recovered and remitted to the treasury.”
“The NNPCL ‘paid over USD$1 million [$1,035,132.81] as legacy debt for charter hire of coastal vessels to a company without power of attorney.’ The Auditor-General fears that ‘the money may have been diverted’. He wants ‘the money recovered and remitted to the treasury.’”
“The NNPCL ‘inflated a contract for over USD$1 million [$1,926,497.38] to hire a Time Charter for Carriage of Petroleum Products.’ The Auditor-General fears that ‘the money may have been diverted’. He wants ‘the money recovered and remitted to the treasury.’”
“The NNPCL ‘paid $156,000.00 to a consultant as outstanding fee for advising on the financing of the rehabilitation of PHRC’, but ‘the payment is doubtful’’. The Auditor-General fears that ‘the money may have been diverted’. He wants ‘the money recovered and remitted to the treasury.’”
“The NNPCL ‘failed to deduct USD$8,355.18 as taxes from the payment of outstanding fees to a consultant for advising on the financing of the rehabilitation of PHRC.’ The Auditor-General fears that ‘the money may have been misappropriated.’ He wants ‘the money recovered and remitted to the treasury.’”
“The NNPCL ‘irregularly paid over N82 million [N82,647,151.00] to a consultant for geotechnical/geophysical investigations of the proposed Independent Power Plant Project site.’ But ‘there was no document showing any evidence of payment’.”
“The Auditor-General fears that ‘the money may have been diverted.’ He wants ‘the money recovered and remitted to the treasury.’”
“The NNPCL ‘paid over N246 million [N246,196,566.00] for a contract for the purchase and supply of 2400 meters of seamless carbon steel pipe to Warri Refinery Petrochemicals Company Limited.’ But ‘the contract was not never executed and the items were not supplied.’”
“The Auditor-General fears that ‘the money may have been diverted.’ He wants ‘the money recovered and remitted to the treasury.”
“The NNPCL ‘failed to deduct over N46 million [N46,244,033.79] as taxes from a consultancy contract in December 2020 and 2021.’ The Auditor-General wants ‘the money recovered and remitted to the treasury.’”
“The NNPCL ‘irregularly paid N200 million [N200,000,000.00] as settlement for tax renegotiation.’ The Auditor-General fears that ‘the money may have been diverted.’ He wants ‘the money recovered and remitted to the treasury.’”
“The NNPCL ‘failed to remit over N12 billion [N12,721,000,000.00] into the general reserve fund its operating surplus for December 2020.’ The Auditor-General fears that ‘the money may have been diverted.’ He wants ‘the money recovered and remitted to the treasury.’”
“The NNPCL ‘irregularly paid N152 million [N152,000,000.00] to a company to execute a procurement contract requested from the Office of the Inspector-General of Police’, but ‘without any documents.’ The Auditor-General fears that ‘the payment may be for job not done,’ and wants ‘the money recovered.’”
“The NNPCL ‘irregularly paid N25,000,000.00 as additional consultancy fee on a contract for accounting support.’ The Auditor-General fears that ‘the money may have been diverted.’ He wants ‘the money recovered and remitted to the treasury.’”
“The NNPCL ‘paid over USD$12 million [$12,444,313.22] to a contractor to buy and install new diesel generation set at Mosimi Depot.’ But there is no evidence that the project has been fully executed ‘despite the fact that the contract specified that the project awarded in 2020 should be completed within 15 months.’”
“The Auditor-General fears that ‘the money may have been diverted.’ He wants ‘the money recovered and remitted to the treasury.”
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“The NNPCL ‘irregularly paid over N145 million [N145,933,833.00] for a contract for the operation and maintenance of Electro-Mechanical Facilities in the NNPC Towers. The ‘contract was automatically renewed on yearly basis without creating room for a fresh contract where other consultants would be given an opportunity of being considered’. The Auditor-General wants the money accounted for.”
“The NNPCL ‘paid 13 contractors over N1 billion [N1,212,192,409.97] for various works between 2020 and 2021’, but ‘there is no evidence of any work done by the contractors as there were no supporting documents.’”
“The Auditor-General fears that ‘the money may have been diverted.’ He wants ‘the money recovered and remitted to the treasury.”
The SERAP notes that Section 15(5) of the Nigerian Constitution 1999 (as amended) requires public institutions to abolish all corrupt practices and abuse of power.”
President of Dangote Industries Limited, Aliko Dangote, has revealed that the much-awaited initial public offering of the Dangote Refinery will open within the next 10 to 12 days.
Dangote disclosed this on Friday while speaking with investors and analysts in Botswana, according to Reuters.
The $20bn Lagos-based refinery is expected to raise about $5bn through the IPO, which could become the largest public offering on the African continent.
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Dangote said the planned listing would support the group’s ambition to further expand the refinery’s capacity.
He said, “Our dream is that we want to make sure we double the capacity of the refinery… which will take us to 1.4 million barrels per day. The IPO will open in the next 10 to 12 days.”
The refinery, currently Africa’s largest, reached its full designed capacity of 650,000 barrels per day in February. It has since pushed production beyond that level, reaching 700,000 barrels per day during testing.
The IPO is part of a broader expansion strategy by the Dangote Group.
Dangote also disclosed that Dangote Cement is expected to secure a secondary listing on the London Stock Exchange, potentially in October, in a move aimed at giving the company access to a wider pool of international investors.
The businessman further confirmed plans to establish a new refinery on Kenya’s coast in partnership with East African governments.
The proposed refinery is expected to supply refined petroleum products to Kenya and neighbouring countries while helping reduce the region’s dependence on fuel imports.
Construction of the Kenyan facility is expected to take up to three years and would represent the Dangote Group’s biggest refining investment outside Nigeria.
The planned refinery IPO and expansion projects underline Dangote Industries’ growing ambitions to strengthen its position in Africa’s energy and industrial sectors.
Former Vice President and African Democratic Congress (ADC) presidential candidate, Atiku Abubakar, has raised the alarm over reports that some young Nigerians are resorting to selling their kidneys for as little as ₦1.7 million to cope with the country’s worsening cost-of-living crisis.
Atiku made the remarks in a statement on Friday, expressing concern that economic hardship was pushing young Nigerians towards increasingly desperate measures simply to survive.
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He described the reported development as “frightening,” stressing that young Nigerians should be using their talents, ideas and creativity to build better lives rather than being forced to consider selling their body organs.
“Young people should be selling dreams, ideas and innovation, not their body organs,” Atiku said.
According to him, the rising cost of essential goods and services, including food, transportation, rent, school fees, medicine and electricity, has placed enormous pressure on Nigerians.
He blamed the economic direction of the administration of President Bola Tinubu for what he described as the worsening hardship confronting citizens.
“In Tinubu’s Nigeria, almost everything required to live with dignity is becoming more expensive by the day: food, transport, rent, school fees, medicine and electricity,” he said.
Atiku said the reported sale of kidneys for as little as ₦1.7 million was evidence that the crisis had moved beyond ordinary economic hardship.
“When young Nigerians begin to see their kidneys as emergency savings, we are no longer talking about ordinary economic hardship. We are talking about desperation at its most frightening,” he added.
The former vice president noted that Nigeria already has laws prohibiting commercial organ sales and organ trafficking.
However, he argued that enforcement alone would not solve the underlying poverty and desperation exposing vulnerable Nigerians to exploitation.
“Laws alone cannot cure the poverty and desperation that make vulnerable young people easy prey for criminal networks,” Atiku said.
He called for economic reforms that would have a direct impact on the living conditions of ordinary Nigerians, including measures to make food and transportation more affordable, improve access to healthcare and create decent employment opportunities.
Atiku further urged the government to pursue policies capable of restoring hope among young Nigerians.
“Our young people should be selling their ideas, talents and innovation to the world and not their kidneys for ₦1.7 million just to survive at home,” he said.
His comments come amid reports of alleged organ sales and a police investigation into an alleged organ-harvesting and human-trafficking operation involving four suspects, including two nephrologists.
Atiku described the situation as a disturbing reflection of what he called the “human cost” of Nigeria’s cost-of-living crisis.
The Presidency has clarified that President Bola Tinubu is not on trial in the United States, describing the ongoing legal proceedings involving records linked to him as a civil dispute over access to government documents.
The clarification was made by the Special Adviser to the President on Information and Strategy, Bayo Onanuga, amid renewed attention to the case before the United States District Court for the District of Columbia.
According to the Presidency, the matter arose from requests submitted under the US Freedom of Information Act (FOIA) for records relating to Tinubu.
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“For clarity, the matter is a civil records-disclosure dispute under the United States Freedom of Information Act. It is not a criminal case against President Tinubu, nor has the court found him guilty of any criminal wrongdoing,” the Presidency stated.
The government explained that Aaron Greenspan submitted FOIA requests to several US government agencies in 2022, seeking records relating to the President.
After some agencies withheld certain records or declined to confirm or deny their existence, Greenspan commenced Civil Action No. 23-1816 before the US District Court for the District of Columbia in 2023.
The court subsequently permitted President Tinubu to participate in the proceedings as an intervenor.
The Presidency said some of the agencies invoked the “Glomar defence”, a legal position that allows US government agencies, under certain circumstances, to neither confirm nor deny the existence of particular investigative records.
It added that the court subsequently granted summary judgment in favour of the CIA, Executive Office for United States Attorneys, Department of State, Department of the Treasury and Internal Revenue Service, effectively removing them from the proceedings.
However, aspects of the case involving the Federal Bureau of Investigation and the Drug Enforcement Administration remained subject to further consideration.
The Presidency further disclosed that the FBI and DEA had produced 399 pages of records in compliance with court orders, although portions of the documents were redacted under exemptions provided by US law.
According to the government, the plaintiff challenged the agencies’ decision to redact parts of the documents and sought their release without the redactions.
The FBI and DEA, through the US Department of Justice, opposed the request, citing legal protections covering certain categories of information.
The Presidency said some of the records relate to grand jury proceedings, which are protected from public disclosure under US law.
It also cited protections covering information connected to certain court orders authorising pen registers or trap-and-trace devices, as well as documents protected by attorney-client and attorney-work-product privileges.
The Presidency’s clarification comes amid heightened political debate ahead of Nigeria’s 2027 general elections, with opposition figures continuing to scrutinise the President’s past and administration.
The government, however, maintained that the US proceedings should not be misrepresented as a criminal trial against Tinubu, stressing that the case concerns the disclosure and withholding of government records.
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‘Young Nigerians Now Selling Their Kidneys to Survive’ — Atiku Raises Alarm
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