The usually serene streets of Westminster were disrupted today as hundreds of Nigerian voices took to the streets in protest.
Chanting ‘Kyari must go home’, the protesters gathered outside the UK Home Office and the Nigerian High Commission, demanding the deportation of the former NNPCL GCEO, Mele Kyari.
The demonstrators, under the slogan ‘Rescue Nigeria Now’, comprised members of the Nigerian diaspora and human rights activists, held placards and banners, calling for Kyari’s UK residency to be withdrawn and for his immediate extradition back to Nigeria to face the EFCC.
Formal letters were also submitted to both the UK Home Office and the Nigerian High Commission, urging immediate action on the matter.
The protesters accused the former NNPCL head of fleeing Nigeria to escape responsibility for his alleged financial misconduct during his tenure in the petroleum oil juggernaut from 2019 to 2025.
The group made their demands clear in a letter addressed to the Nigerian High Commissioner to the United Kingdom:
“Your Excellency, this letter is not merely a petition – it is a demand – a moral, civic, and nationalistic demand. We, therefore, demand in the strongest terms that the Nigerian High Commission in the United Kingdom refrains from according him any form of official reception, recognition, or diplomatic courtesy until he returns to Nigeria to submit himself to the Economic and Financial Crimes Commission (EFCC) and other relevant investigative bodies for the myriad allegations that trail his tenure.
“We see this as an affront to the people of Nigeria and an insult to the esteemed anti-corruption crusade of the Federal Republic of Nigeria, that an individual of such notoriety whose tenure in NNPCL was marred by unprecedented corruption and international embarrassment should not be allowed to roam freely on British soil without facing the consequences of his actions.”
‘Rescue Nigeria Now’ further outlined the multiple allegations against Kyari, with the petition listing his subversion of funds, fraudulent invoicing and other corrupt practices shrouded under the guise of business.
“It is on record till date that billions of dollars that were ostensibly budgeted for the rehabilitation of Nigeria’s decrepit refineries in Warri, Kaduna and Port Harcourt just unaccountably vanished into a bureaucratic abyss under the leadership of Mr. Kyari. While the nation was waiting expectantly for positive results, it was unfortunate that no tangible infrastructural improvement or reasonable output has been recorded as a justification to the gargantuan expenditures being made. Instead, Nigeria, a country known as the largest oil producer in Africa, continued importing refined petroleum products while its refineries remained moribund, mothballed, and perfunctorily maintained, further weakening the Nigeria naira.
“Subsidy removal, though a visionary idea by President Bola Ahmed Tinubu, however became an ideological tool of deceit, not policy relief under Kyari’s watch. The EFCC has reportedly received whistleblower testimonies and documents alleging fraudulent invoicing, overblown subsidy claims, and clandestine offshore payments.” the petition reads.
Concluding the letter, the protesters urged the UK Authorities to act in accordance with international anti-corruption regulations by extraditing Mele Kyari back to Nigeria to face law, adding cause to believe that Kyari had transferred parts of the proceeds of his crimes to offshore accounts in London, which is a violation of their anti-money laundering legislation.
As EFCC continues to carry out its investigation in Kyari’s alleged financial misconducts, there has yet to be an answer from United Kingdom authorities.