The Socio-Economic Rights and Accountability Project (SERAP), alongside four concerned Nigerians, has filed a lawsuit against President Bola Tinubu’s administration for failing to publish the forensic audit report on the Niger Delta Development Commission (NDDC).
SERAP’s Deputy Director, Kolawole Oluwadare, confirmed this in a statement issued on Sunday. He revealed that the audit, which was commissioned under former President Muhammadu Buhari, exposed how N6 trillion went missing from the NDDC between 2001 and 2019, allegedly implicating top officials and politicians.
In a recent development, the Minister of the Federal Capital Territory, Nyesom Wike, claimed that the wife of a former minister received ₦48 billion over 12 months “to train Niger Delta women.”
The plaintiffs—Prince Taiwo Aiyedatiwa, Chief Jude Igbogifurotogu Pulemote, Ben Omietimi Tariye, and Princess Elizabeth Egbe—joined SERAP in filing the suit before the ECOWAS Community Court of Justice in Abuja. The case, marked ECW/CCJ/APP/35/25, was lodged last Friday.
They are seeking a declaration that the government’s failure to release the report constitutes a fundamental breach of Nigeria’s international human rights obligations.
The plaintiffs are requesting the court to:
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Compel the Nigerian government to publish the forensic audit report;
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Ensure public access to the report;
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Adopt effective measures to enhance transparency and accountability in the NDDC’s financial activities.
“The government has violated our right to know the truth about the corruption exposed in the forensic report,” they stated. “By suppressing the report, the government is enabling impunity and covering up grave allegations.”
They argued that freedom of expression includes the public’s right to access information about government activities. Without transparency, they said, public participation in governance becomes hollow and ineffective.
The plaintiffs also noted that the government has failed to offer any explanation for withholding the report from both them and the general public.
Lawyers Kolawole Oluwadare, Kehinde Oyewumi, and Andrew Nwankwo filed the suit on behalf of SERAP and the other applicants, insisting there is overwhelming public interest in making the report public.
President Buhari ordered the forensic audit in 2019 in response to widespread allegations of corruption and mismanagement in the NDDC.