The Economic and Financial Crimes Commission has arraigned the immediate past Managing Directors of Nigeria’s Port Harcourt and Warri refineries, Ahmed Adamu Dikko and Jimoh Yisawu, before the High Court of the Federal Capital Territory in Abuja over alleged money laundering linked to refinery rehabilitation funds.
According to court documents filed by the anti-graft agency, Dikko is facing a 12-count charge, while Yisawu is standing trial on an eight-count charge. The charges border on alleged money laundering, abuse of office, concealment of illicit funds, and conducting large cash transactions outside the banking system in violation of Nigeria’s anti-money laundering laws.
The EFCC alleged that Ahmed Adamu Dikko, the former Managing Director of the Port Harcourt Refining Company, received suspicious payments from contractors engaged in refinery rehabilitation projects and concealed the proceeds through various transactions.
One of the charges accused him of paying ₦218.375 million in cash in February 2024 to purchase a property in Katampe Extension, Abuja, without routing the payment through a financial institution, contrary to the provisions of the Money Laundering (Prevention and Prohibition) Act, 2022.
The commission further alleged that Dikko retained several payments running into hundreds of millions of naira from contractors, including ₦100 million, ₦90 million, and another ₦90 million allegedly routed through a third party. Investigators also accused him of concealing the source of ₦328.71 million linked to transactions involving NNPC’s allocation of Vacuum Gas Oil for export and converting $77,080 through another individual.
The EFCC maintained that the funds could not be traced to Dikko’s legitimate earnings as a public official.
In a separate case, the former Managing Director of the Warri Refining and Petrochemical Company, Jimoh Yisawu, was accused of laundering substantial sums through proxies and making cash transactions exceeding the limits prescribed by law.
According to the commission, Yisawu allegedly converted $789,950 through an associate between October 2023 and May 2025, while an additional $122,600 was allegedly converted through another individual. Prosecutors also alleged that he retained millions of naira received from contractors and transferred ₦65.86 million for treasury bill investments in breach of both the Money Laundering Act, 2011, and the Money Laundering (Prevention and Prohibition) Act, 2022.
The latest prosecution follows the EFCC’s recent recovery of more than ₦9.4 billion, $21.2 million, and several landed properties during its ongoing investigation into the alleged diversion of funds earmarked for the rehabilitation and turnaround maintenance of Nigeria’s refineries.
The commission described the refinery rehabilitation probe as one of the largest corruption investigations in Nigeria’s oil and gas sector in recent years.
The cases are expected to continue before the Federal Capital Territory High Court in Abuja.
