Justice Emeka Nwite of the Federal High Court, Abuja Division, has transferred the Economic and Financial Crimes Commission (EFCC) case against Mr. Mele Kyari to the court registry for reassignment.
![](https://thenigerialawyer.com/wp-content/uploads/2025/05/idrinstitute.png")
Kyari, the immediate past Group Managing Director (GMD) of the Nigerian National Petroleum Company Limited (NNPCL), is being investigated over alleged money laundering and abuse of office.
The development follows a previous order allowing the EFCC to temporarily freeze four Jaiz Bank accounts linked to Kyari. Justice Nwite, who had been handling the matter as a vacation judge, had fixed September 23 for a report of compliance on the order. However, the case, marked FHC/ABJ/CS/1641/2025, was not heard on Tuesday, and no lawyers appeared in court.
The EFCC, through its lawyer Ogechi Ujam, had informed the court in an ex-parte motion that investigations were ongoing and that the agency required more time to conclude its findings. The motion sought to freeze bank accounts suspected to be involved in proceeds of unlawful activities.
In its application, the EFCC identified the accounts as follows:
- Jaiz Bank 0017922724, account name: Mele Kyari
- Jaiz Bank 0018575055, account name: Guwori Community Development Foundation
- Jaiz Bank 0018575141, account name: Guwori Community Development Foundation Flood Relief
- One additional account
Investigations, led by EFCC officer Amin Abdullahi from the Special Investigation Unit, revealed that N661,464,601.50 was suspected to be proceeds of unlawful activities. The funds, traced to Kyari, were reportedly received from NNPC and oil companies and routed through accounts managed by Kyari’s family members. Transactions were allegedly disguised as payments for a book launch and NGO activities.
The EFCC has contacted Jaiz Bank for full account records and issued a 72-hour no-debit instruction on the accounts pending investigation. The agency maintained that freezing the accounts is necessary to preserve evidence and ensure justice.
The Chief Judge of the Federal High Court, Justice John Tsoho, may reassign the case back to Justice Nwite or to another judge, as the file is now in the registry.
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