The Senate has disassociated itself from the arrest warrant issued by its Committee on Public Accounts against the immediate Group Chief Executive Officer of the Nigerian National Petroleum Company Limited, Mele Kyari. The chamber also dismissed disparaging remarks by Senator Adams Oshiomhole referring to NNPCL as “a bunch of criminals and thieves”.
The repudiation followed a motion moved by Senate Leader Opeyemi Bamidele on a point of order on urgent national importance. Bamidele said the Senate had to protect its institutional integrity, ensure adherence to the Legislative Houses’ Powers and Privileges Act and protect fair hearing and due process.
The controversy erupted on Wednesday when the Public Accounts Committee, led by Senator Ibrahim Dankwambo, resumed its investigation into queries raised against NNPCL by the Auditor General of the Federation in audit reports for the years 2017 to 2023. The committee had at the session with the former NNPCL management resolved to issue an arrest warrant against Kyari.
Also, at the same session, Senator Oshiomhole, a member of the committee, made negative comments about the NNPCL. He said the company was “a bunch of criminals and thieves” and the former management team had been interrogated.
However, within 24 hours, the Senate in plenary session disassociated itself from both the action of the committee and the comments of Oshiomhole, saying they did not reflect the position of the institution.
Bamidele told the Senate that any committee performing oversight under Sections 88 and 89 of the 1999 Constitution must do so in accordance with natural justice, fairness, objectivity, parliamentary responsibility and respect for the rule of law.
“While the Senate has broad investigative and oversight powers, such powers must be exercised in a way that does not create the appearance of bias, prejudice, prejudgment or predetermined conclusions about any person or institution being investigated,” he said.
He particularly submitted that the warrant of arrest issued against Kyari was replete with procedural irregularities and ought to be nullified. He also called on the Senate to discountenance Oshiomhole’s description of NNPCL.
Bamidele warned that “Such procedural irregularities may expose Senate proceedings to avoidable legal challenges and diminish public confidence in the institution.” He said statements implying guilt before investigations are concluded prejudice proceedings.
The motion was strongly supported by Deputy Senate President Barau Jibrin, Senate Whip Tahir Monguno, Senator Adamu Aliero who described Oshiomhole’s comments as reckless and Senator Orji Uzor Kalu, who moved that Oshiomhole withdraw the statement.
Reacting, Oshiomhole said he made the comments under duress occasioned by equally uncomplimentary remarks against the Senate and senators by the former NNPCL Chief Financial Officer, Alhaji Umar Ajiya, during the investigative hearing.
The Senate, in its resolution, has formally disassociated itself from Oshiomhole’s statement that the NNPCL was “a bunch of criminals and thieves,” saying the comments did not represent the official position or determination of the Senate.
The chamber also discredited the alleged arrest warrant issued by the Public Accounts Committee on Wednesday, June 10, 2026, against Mele Kyari.
