Mars Aviation Restricted, a agency related to businessman Bashir Haske, has denied any function in an alleged Nigerian National Petroleum Company Limited (NNPCL) fraud.
A Federal Excessive Courtroom in Abuja, presided over by a decide, Musa Liman, had earlier granted an interim order freezing the corporate’s Constancy Checking account following an software by the EFCC.
The order stemmed from an ex parte movement filed on 1 July by EFCC counsel Geraldine Ofulue, with the swimsuit quantity: FHC/ABJ/CS/1299/2025, by which the company claimed the account was tied to suspected cash laundering and legal misappropriation.
Intelligence reviews
The Nation Newspaper reported that the EFCC advised the courtroom that intelligence reviews linked funds from NNPCL to the corporate, allegedly for contracts that violated public procurement procedures.
The company stated substantial sums had been deposited within the account throughout a number of transactions, prompting it to hunt the interim freezing order to protect the funds pending investigation.
As of the time of submitting this report, the EFCC had not launched an official assertion on the matter.
Rebuttal
In an announcement dated 7 October made out there to PREMIUM TIMES on Friday, Mars Aviation stated the order was obtained with out giving it an opportunity to reply to the allegations.
“The applying resulting in the order was made with out discover, and we weren’t allowed to current our place earlier than the courtroom,” the agency acknowledged. “We’ve since instructed our authorized workforce to take all lawful steps to problem the order and make sure the information are totally offered earlier than the courtroom.”
The corporate insisted that every one funds acquired had been for reliable enterprise transactions consistent with Nigerian legal guidelines and worldwide aviation requirements.
“Mars Aviation Restricted has at all times operated transparently and in compliance with relevant laws,” it added, reaffirming its dedication to good company governance and due course of.
Whereas acknowledging the EFCC’s function in combating monetary crimes, the corporate urged the company to train its powers objectively and freed from political affect.
“We imagine that after the complete information are earlier than the courtroom, Mars Aviation Restricted and its administration can be vindicated,” the assertion concluded.
Background
This newspaper reported that the anti-graft company had began an investigation into alleged abuse of workplace and misappropriation of funds involving a number of former NNPC executives, together with the quick previous Group Chief Government Officer, Mele Kyari, and his predecessor, Abubakar Yar’Adua.
In a letter dated 28 April and addressed to the current NNPCL administration, the fee is particularly probing the disbursement of over $2.9 billion authorized for the rehabilitation of Nigeria’s three state-owned refineries.
The letter, with reference quantity CR:3000/EFCC/ABJ/HQ/SDC.2/NNPC/VOL.1/698, requested licensed wage and allowance data of 14 present and former senior executives, together with Messrs Kyari, Yar’Adua, and former refinery managing administrators Ibrahim Onoja (PHRC), Mustafa Sugungun (KRPC), and Efifia Chu (WRPC).
The funds beneath investigation embrace $1.56 billion allotted to the Port Harcourt refinery, $740.6 million for Kaduna, and $656.9 million for Warri, which had been launched beneath a controversial rehabilitation scheme.
A number of of the listed officers had both been sacked or retired, following a shake-up initiated by President Bola Tinubu, who additionally dissolved the NNPC board and appointed a brand new administration workforce led by Bayo Ojulari as GCEO and Ahmadu Kida as board chair.
Regardless of the large monetary injection into the refineries, public data and website visits point out that the services have largely didn’t resume significant operations.
The Warri refinery, which was reopened in December 2024, shut down in January on account of questions of safety, whereas the Port Harcourt refinery has operated under 42 per cent of its put in capability.
