Thursday saw a massive demonstration in Abuja at the Royal Embassy of Saudi Arabia by members of the Young Professionals Forum of Nigeria.
The demonstrators were demanding that Mallam Mele Kyari, the former Group Chief Executive Officer of the Nigerian National Petroleum Company Limited (NNPCL), be denied entry into the Kingdom due to allegations of corruption.
Over a thousand people, including attorneys, physicians, engineers, craftspeople, and others in the professional classes, gathered to demand that Kyari be deported and immediately barred from Saudi Arabia for what they said was an attempt to avoid corruption probes in Nigeria.
In a strongly worded appeal presented to embassy authorities, the group was headed by the forum’s convener, Barrister Sambari Benjamin, and its organizing secretary, Comrade John Ndubuokwu.
The Saudi ambassador to Abuja, Barr. Sambari, spoke to reporters outside the Saudi embassy in the Maitama neighborhood and cautioned that Kyari’s purported intention to leave the nation was an attempt to avoid responsibility.
There have been preliminary inquiries into Kyari’s financial operations while he was at NNPCL, according to the group. The investigations have been begun by the EFCC and the ICPC.
According to Sambari, “we are forced to act in light of these developments.” This is because Kyari views Saudi Arabia as a refuge that is immune to Nigerian and international law. We can not stand by and let this happen.
As Nigerian citizens and protectors of our nation’s moral and economic fabric, we, the Young Professionals Forum of Nigeria, write to you, Your Excellency, and the distinguished officials of the Royal Embassy of Saudi Arabia in Abuja, with this petition, which they addressed to the Saudi ambassador.
“We humbly request that you intervene to stop Mallam Mele Kyari from coming to or requesting refuge in Saudi Arabia.”
Amidst “growing public indignation and strong evidence of economic sabotage and institutional betrayal,” the group staked out accusations that Kyari was behind “clandestine moves” to leave Nigeria.
The group stressed that Saudi Arabia, as a revered leader in the Muslim world, should distance itself from individuals like Mele Kyari in order to reinforce its clear position against corruption and economic crimes.