The committee is especially worried about the discrepancy between the sales figures for crude oil between 2011 and 2014.
In connection with its investigation into the suspected loss of over $2.4 billion in revenue from the illegal sale of 48 million barrels of crude oil export in 2015, the House of Representatives Ad Hoc Committee on Oil Theft is inviting a number of senior officials from the Federal Government.
According to Channels Television, the Secretary General of the Federation, Boss Mustapha, and Minister of Finance Zainab Ahmed are among the representatives who were asked to participate in a Q&A session on Tuesday.
Among others, the Nigerian National Petroleum Company Limited (NNPCL) and Sylva Okolieaboh, the acting Accountant General of the Federation, were also called.
The committee is particularly worried about the discrepancy in crude oil sales data between 2011 and 2014, and it accuses the minister of finance of authorizing payments to whistleblowers in violation of the policy.
Interference by AGF or Interpol?
A whistleblower claims that 48 million barrels of Nigeria’s bonny light crude, worth $2.4 billion, were sold illegally to China in 2015. The ad hoc House committee is looking into this claim.
The committee charged Abubakar Malami, the Attorney General of the Federation (AGF), and Interpol in February of interfering with the committee’s investigation.
The committee questioned the timing of Interpol’s invitation of a whistleblower at the Ministry of Justice’s request, which came shortly after the start of the House probe.
Garba Umar, the head of Interpol’s national central bureau in Nigeria, asserted that the bureau only took action at the AGF’s request.
“There is an organization named Advocacy for Good Government and Free Nigeria,” the chairman of the House Ad hoc Committee on Oil Theft, Mark Gbillah, said.
This is the’so-called Civil Society Organization’ that complained to the Attorney General about an international ring of extortionists attempting to bribe high government officials.
“How is it that a faceless body made claims, and the Attorney General responded? Hence, the Attorney General did not verify the legitimacy of any organization himself.
Dissatisfied with Interpol’s submission, the Committee accused the AGF of meddling with the House’s probe.
Because Interpol is only required by law to react to requests made by local law enforcement agencies, the Committee feared for the whistleblower’s safety and demanded that the Ministry of Justice should not be making direct requests to Interpol but rather should go through the police.
