Protesting Nigerian whistleblowers, under the umbrella of the George Uboh Whistleblowers Network (GUWN), have stormed the headquarters of the Nigerian National Petroleum Company Limited (NNPCL) in Abuja.

They are demanding the immediate disclosure of the whereabouts of the proceeds of sold stolen 48 million barrels of Nigeria’s bonny light crude oil, stored in China and sold under the watch of the Malam Mele Kyari, the current Group Chief Executive Officer (GCEO) of the government owned company.

The chairman of the whistleblowers, Dr George Uboh, said that “today Wednesday, December 13, 2023 shall go down as the day the over 100 million Nigerians living in abject poverty have come to protest in a peaceful and non-violent manner, the stealing and selling of 48 million barrels of crude oil by Mele Kyari as ordered by a court of competent jurisdiction.

“The court has ordered Mele Kyari to disclose and publish in the public interest the whereabouts of the proceeds of the sale of 48 million barrels of bonny light crude oil stolen in Nigeria and stored in China under Mele Kyari’s watch.

“Mele Kyari’s flagrant disregard for and playing deaf eye to this court order compelling him to act smacks of “aristocratic arrogance”, the disease all kleptocrats suffer globally, to the detriment of the suffering masses”.

The Whistleblowers vowed to remain at the entrance of the NNPCL headquarters until Mele Kyari discloses and publishes in the public interest the whereabouts of the proceeds of the 48 million barrels of crude oil which at $100 per barrel translates to $4.8 billion as ordered by the court.

“We shall leave the criminal angle to the law enforcement agencies, given the fact that the court used the term “stolen”.

“In conclusion, Mele Kyari please show us where you kept $4.8 billion you stole which belongs to all Nigerians on the homeland and in the diaspora”, the whistleblowers said.

The High Court of the Federal Capital Territory (FCT) had on July 12, 2023 ordered Malam Kyari to account for the proceeds of the the illegally sold stolen Nigerian crude oil.

The presiding Judge, Justice F.A. Aliyu, had specifically ordered the GCEO of NNPCL, Mele Kyari, “to disclose and publish, in the interest of the public, the whereabouts of the proceeds of the sale of the 48 million Barrels of Bonny Light Crude Oil Stolen from Nigeria and stored in china” under his watch.

The protesters had sent written notices to the Department of State Services (DSS) and the Nigeria Police Force before the protesters occupied the headquarters of NNPCL in Abuja.