SERAP Sues Nigerian Government at ECOWAS Court Over Alleged N6 Trillion NDDC Audit Cover-Up.
By Our Correspondent
The Socio-Economic Rights and Accountability Project (SERAP), in collaboration with four concerned Nigerians, has initiated legal proceedings against the Federal Government at the ECOWAS Community Court of Justice located in Abuja. The lawsuit stems from the government’s failure to release the forensic audit report of the Niger Delta Development Commission (NDDC).
SERAP claims that the audit report reveals the disappearance of an alarming ₦6 trillion from the NDDC between 2001 and 2019. Despite the report being submitted to the government, it remains unpublished and inaccessible to the public.
The plaintiffs assert that the government’s decision to withhold the report constitutes a violation of Nigeria’s international human rights commitments, particularly the fundamental right to access public information.
Labeled ECW/CCJ/APP/35/25, the suit features prominent figures: Prince Taiwo Aiyedatiwa, Chief Jude Igbogifurotogu Pulemote, Ben Omietimi Tariye, and Princess Elizabeth Egbe.
In their legal arguments, the petitioners call for the court to affirm that the Nigerian government’s refusal to disclose the audit findings infringes upon the African Charter on Human and Peoples’ Rights and the International Covenant on Civil and Political Rights, both of which Nigeria has ratified.
Furthermore, they seek an order mandating the publication of the audit report while advocating for reforms aimed at enhancing transparency and accountability in the management of NDDC funds.
“The Nigerian government has breached our right to uncover the truth regarding the corruption allegations presented in the NDDC forensic report. The ongoing suppression of this information fosters impunity and shields high-ranking officials from accountability,” the plaintiffs pointed out.
The forensic audit was commissioned in 2019 by the late former President Muhammadu Buhari in response to widespread corruption allegations within the NDDC. Recently, Nyesom Wike, the Minister of the Federal Capital Territory, publicly claimed that the wife of a former minister received ₦48 billion within a single year under the guise of training women in the Niger Delta.
Kolawole Oluwadare, representing the applicants, emphasized the public’s right to scrutinize government affairs. He contended that the NDDC audit report should not be categorized as classified material and that its ongoing concealment hinders citizens from holding their leaders accountable and undermines the integrity of the rule of law.
“There is a compelling public interest in the release and transparency of the NDDC forensic report. The persistent failure to publish the report denies the plaintiffs the opportunity to examine its findings and seek accountability for the corruption outlined within,” the legal counsel expressed.
