The heat is on at NNPC as the EFCC swoops in, arresting former Chief Financial Officer Umar Isa over an alleged $7.2 billion fraud tied to Nigeria’s long-abandoned refinery rehab projects.

Isa, who was in charge of releasing funds for the overhaul of the Kaduna, Warri, and Port Harcourt refineries, is accused of overseeing massive financial misconduct — from embezzlement to kickbacks — in a deal that was meant to fix Nigeria’s broken oil infrastructure.

Also in custody is Jimoh Olasunkanmi, former MD of the Warri Refinery. The two are at the center of a growing probe into what insiders are calling one of the most “reckless misuses” of public funds in NNPC history.

The EFCC isn’t stopping there. Others under investigation include Warri Refinery’s current MD, Tunde Bakare; former Port Harcourt Refinery boss Ahmed Dikko; and his predecessor, Ibrahim Onoja.

Attempts to reach the EFCC spokesperson, Dele Oyewale, have so far been unsuccessful.

This high-stakes crackdown follows last week’s Senate bombshell, where lawmakers uncovered trillions of naira in unexplained transactions buried in NNPC’s financials from 2017 to 2023. Eleven queries have been fired at the company’s finance team, with a one-week deadline for answers.

Meanwhile, rights group SERAP is piling on the pressure, demanding a broader probe into ₦500 billion in missing funds linked to the oil giant.