The Economic and Financial Crimes Commission (EFCC) has intensified its investigation into Abdullahi Bashir Haske, the founder of AA & R Investment Group, who has been declared wanted for alleged criminal conspiracy and money laundering.
Haske who is a close ally of NNPC Limited Group Chief Executive Officer, Bayo Ojulari, is also linked to the controversial organisation of a lavish NNPCL management retreat in Kigali, Rwanda, where five private jets were allegedly chartered to fly top executives to the luxury event.
The wanted oil magnate was previously detained and had his passport seized by investigators, but sources told our correspondent that he managed to escape the country using another travel document.
In a public notice signed by EFCC spokesperson Dele Oyewale, the Commission urged anyone with useful information on Haske’s whereabouts to contact its offices nationwide, security agencies, or reach out via its official helplines and email.
The manhunt comes amid wider controversy surrounding alleged fraudulent contracts linked to Haske and the Nigerian National Petroleum Company Limited (NNPCL).
According to EFCC sources, over $56 million has been traced to different accounts linked to Haske within the last three months alone.
A civic group, the Coalition of Nigerian Patriots for Good Governance, recently accused the NNPCL leadership under Ojulari of awarding a ₦5.7 billion consultancy deal to Haske without due process.
The group described the award as “a loot in broad daylight,” questioning why an obscure firm with no verifiable track record was handpicked for such a contract. It further condemned what it called reckless spending by NNPCL executives, citing both the controversial Kigali retreat and the secretive consultancy deal.
At the heart of the EFCC’s deepening probe are suspicions of money laundering, bulk cash transfers, and questionable transactions tied to NNPC EnServe Ltd., a subsidiary of NNPCL’s Upstream Directorate.
While the Commission continues its search, civil society groups have vowed to sustain pressure, insisting that accountability is owed to Nigerians “at a time when over 200 million people live in multidimensional poverty.”
