Group details how NNPC fleeces Nigeria of N29 trillion, seeks fund recovery
By Sylvester Idang
A non-government organisation (NGO), along with its 13 associates have approached the Federal High Court seeking to recover over N29.3 trillion from the Nigerian National Petroleum Corporation (NNPC).
This represents the sum allegedly stolen by NNPC between 2019 and 2020.
Reality Advocacy Against Corruption (RAAC), said that NNPC had been using the transactions at the National Petroleum Investment Management Services (NAPIMS), one of its subsidiaries, to dupe the country through phoney and hidden deals.
RAAC in the suit number FHC/ABJ/CS/1202/2021, claimed that the alleged fraudulent financial transactions occurred between 2019 and 2020.
They are asking the court to give an order for the NNPC not only to remit the alleged stolen money back to the Federation Account, but to prevent NNPC from transmitting the assets, interests and liabilities of NAPIMS to the newly created “Nigerian National Petroleum Company Limited in line with section 54 of the Petroleum Industry Act, 2021 LFN or such other laws, pending the full declaration of the assets, liabilities and interests of its subsidiary companies through the Group Audited Financial Statements.”
Other plaintiffs in the suit filed on 7th October, 2021 include: First Synergy Resources Ltd, NUBIA Tigris Ltd, Golden Dreams Nigeria Enterprises Ltd, Sanusi Mamman Muri, Fidelis Uzonwanne and Adewale Aremu Olaiya.
Others include Mr. Ozioma Ezeogu, Mr. Simon Garba Eluma, Alhaji Aliyu Idris, Mr. Charles Okoli, Michael Adinoyi Bello Esq, Idris Waziri Esq and Kingsley Fred Perobo.
Listed as plaintiffs in the suit filed by Edwin Agbu, Mike Bello and Amarachi Osuji of Bluewhales and Company, counsel to the plaintiffs, are eight defendants including: the NNPC, Federal Government of Nigeria, Attorney-General of the federation and minister of Justice (AGF), and Federal Ministry of Finance.
One of the grievances alluded to include allegation that NNPC in concert with the auditing firms “fraudulently concealed trillions of Naira meant for the federation account by producing two different audited financial statements with one in the name of NAPIMS showing accumulated confirmed profits, while another in the name of NNPC showed loss of monies in Naira, dollars.”
They also alleged that NNPC fraudulently manipulated NAPIMS accounts through payment of spurious taxes, payment of “dividends” to unknown persons, duplicated costs and auditing fees, and had all along projected the NNPC as operating with losses whereas it was making profits.
They further alleged that the NNPC and its firm of auditors have “continued with the fraud in the audited financial statements of NAPIMS and that of the NNPC by concealing retained earnings by over-bloating costs; paying secret dividends and making inflated payments and duplicating costs as fees to the auditors” all of which the plaintiffs said they will prove relying on bank statements and documents officially published by the NNPC.
They also claimed in the suit that NNPC “fraudulently treated Joint Venture Cash Call Payments as Joint Venture Costs Recovery for Capital Expenditure when such should be profit for the Federation.”
