Justice Emeka Nwite of the Federal High Court in Abuja has transferred the Economic and Financial Crimes Commission’s (EFCC) case against former Group Managing Director of the Nigerian National Petroleum Company Limited (NNPCL), Mele Kyari, to the court registry for reassignment.
The case revolves around allegations of money laundering and financial impropriety linked to multiple bank accounts reportedly connected to Kyari.
The News Agency of Nigeria (NAN) reports that Justice Nwite had on August 19 fixed September 23 for a compliance report after granting EFCC’s request to temporarily freeze four Jaiz Bank accounts linked to him.
EFCC’s counsel, Ogechi Ujam, had previously informed the judge that investigations were still ongoing and sought more time through an ex-parte motion. Justice Nwite granted the request and adjourned the matter for a compliance update.
Case stalls as file removed from cause list
On Tuesday, the matter, marked FHC/ABJ/CS/1641/2025, appeared as number 10 on the court’s cause list but was not taken up. No lawyer represented the parties in court, and the case was not heard.
Although Justice Nwite delivered two judgments and two rulings out of five matters scheduled for the day, the EFCC’s suit was not among those addressed. NAN confirmed that the case file, titled “In The Matter Of An Application By The Executive Chairman of EFCC”, has since been transferred to the registry for reassignment.
The Chief Judge of the Federal High Court, Justice John Tsoho, will now decide whether to reallocate the case to another judge or return it to Justice Nwite.
EFCC lists grounds for freezing Kyari’s accounts
According to court filings, EFCC had on August 11 filed a motion ex-parte, seeking an order to freeze accounts allegedly owned or linked to Kyari, pending the conclusion of investigations.
The motion stated that the accounts include Jaiz Bank account number 0017922724 (Mele Kyari), 0018575055 (Guwori Community Development Foundation), and 0018575141 (Guwori Community Development Foundation Flood Relief).
The EFCC argued that the accounts are under investigation for “conspiracy, abuse of office, and money laundering” and that they are “subject matters of misappropriation of funds and criminal breach of trust.”
