- According to them, the government’s refusal to release the report commissioned in 2019 by former president Muhammadu Buhari contravenes the public’s right to access information and erodes transparency
The Socio-Economic Rights and Accountability Project (SERAP) has instituted a legal action against the administration of President Bola Tinubu at the ECOWAS Court of Justice over the purported cover-up of massive corruption at the Niger Delta Development Commission (NDDC).
The transparency and probity watchdog accused the federal government of refusing to publish a long-awaited forensic audit report into the alleged missing ₦6 trillion from the NDDC.
The suit demanding publication of the report was filed by SERAP alongside four other concerned Nigerians last Friday in Abuja.
According to them, the government’s refusal to release the report commissioned in 2019 by former president Muhammadu Buhari contravenes the public’s right to access information and erodes transparency.
The plaintiffs are Prince Taiwo Aiyedatiwa, Chief Jude Igbogifurotogu Pulemote, Ben Omietimi Tariye, and Princess Elizabeth Egbe.
In a post on X, SERAP said: “We’ve sued the Tinubu administration at the ECOWAS Court of Justice over the failure to publish the forensic report on the NDDC documenting allegations of missing ₦6 trillion in the commission.”
Buhari had ordered the audit amid widespread claims of corruption and financial impropriety in the NDDC, a federal agency tasked with developing the oil-rich but poverty-ravaged Niger Delta region. Although the forensic audit has reportedly been completed and submitted, it is gathering dust somewhere in the presidential Villa as successive administrations have sat on it and refused to publish it.
The clamour for the release of the reports has gathered momentum recently following an allegation by the Minister of the Federal Capital Territory, Nyesom Wike, that the wife of a former minister received ₦48 billion over 12 months “to train Niger Delta women.”
In their suit ECW/CCJ/APP/35/25 the plaintiffs argue that the government’s continued silence amounts to a breach of Nigeria’s international legal obligations.
“The Nigerian government has violated our right to know the truth about the corruption allegations documented in the NDDC forensic report,” the plaintiffs said. “The obstruction of the publication of the report is perpetrating impunity and the cover-up of the allegations.”
They pray the court to compel the government to release the report and adopt stronger transparency and accountability measures concerning NDDC funds.
“Implicit in freedom of expression is the public’s right to open access to information and to know what governments are doing on their behalf,” the suit added. “Without that, truth would languish and people’s participation in government would remain fragmented and illusory.”
SERAP statement in full
BREAKING: Missing N6 trillion: We’ve sued the Tinubu administration at the ECOWAS Court of Justice over the failure to publish the forensic report on the Niger Delta Development Commission (NDDC) documenting allegations of missing N6 trillion in the commission.
Following the allegations of grand corruption, the late former president Muhammadu Buhari in 2019 ordered a forensic audit of the NDDC’s operations. Also, the Minister of the Federal Capital Territory (FCT), Nyesom Wike recently alleged that the wife of a former minister collected N48 billion over 12 months “to train Niger Delta women.”
The suit was filed together with four concerned Nigerians who are: Prince Taiwo Aiyedatiwa; Chief Jude Igbogifurotogu Pulemote; Ben Omietimi Tariye; and Princess Elizabeth Egbe.
In the suit number ECW/CCJ/APP/35/25 filed last Friday before the ECOWAS Community Court of Justice in Abuja, the plaintiffs are seeking: “a declaration that the failure of the Nigerian government to publish the NDDC forensic report amounts to a fundamental breach of the country’s international human rights obligations.”
The plaintiffs are seeking “an order directing and compelling the Nigerian government to publish and ensure access to information to the NDDC forensic report which has been submitted to the government but remains shrouded in secrecy.”
The plaintiffs are also seeking “an order directing and compelling the Nigerian government to adopt and ensure effective measures to address transparency and accountability gaps in the spending of public funds budgeted for the NDDC.”
In the suit, the plaintiffs are arguing that “The Nigerian government has violated our right to know the truth about the corruption allegations documented in the NDDC forensic report. The obstruction of the publication of the report is perpetrating impunity and the cover-up of the allegations documented in the report.”
The plaintiffs are also arguing that, “Implicit in freedom of expression is the public’s right to open access to information and to know what governments are doing on their behalf, without which truth would languish and people’s participation in government would remain fragmented and illusory.”
The plaintiffs are arguing that “The Nigerian government has failed and refused to publish the NDDC forensic report and has failed to provide any reasons or grounds for withholding the report from the plaintiffs and the Nigerian public.”
According to the plaintiffs, “The Nigerian government has the legal obligations to guarantee and ensure transparency and access to information regarding the NDDC forensic report as a component of the right to seek, receive, and impart information of all kinds.”
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