Judul : ‘Missing N6trn’: SERAP drags FG to ECOWAS Court over unpublished NDDC audit
link : ‘Missing N6trn’: SERAP drags FG to ECOWAS Court over unpublished NDDC audit
‘Missing N6trn’: SERAP drags FG to ECOWAS Court over unpublished NDDC audit
The Socio-Economic Rights and Accountability Project (SERAP) and four concerned Nigerians have filed a lawsuit against the Federal Government at the ECOWAS Community Court of Justice in Abuja, over its failure to publish the forensic audit report of the Niger Delta Development Commission (NDDC).
According to SERAP, the report, which allegedly details the disappearance of a staggering N6 trillion from the NDDC between 2001 and 2019, is said to be shrouded in secrecy despite being submitted to the Federal Government (FG).
Specifically, the rights group, alongside its co-plaintiffs, are contending that withholding the report amounts to a grave breach of Nigeria’s international human rights obligations, particularly the right to access public information.
The suit, designated ECW/CCJ/APP/35/25, also lists Prince Taiwo Aiyedatiwa, Chief Jude Igbogifurotogu Pulemote, Ben Omietimi Tariye, and Princess Elizabeth Egbe as co-applicants.
In their submissions, the plaintiffs are asking the court to declare that the Nigerian government’s refusal to release the audit findings violates the African Charter on Human and Peoples’ Rights and the International Covenant on Civil and Political Rights, both of which Nigeria has ratified.
They are further seeking an order compelling the publication of the audit report and demanding systemic reforms to ensure transparency and accountability in the management of NDDC funds.
“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 is aiding impunity and shielding high-ranking officials from accountability,” the plaintiffs said.
The forensic audit was initiated in 2019 by the late former President Muhammadu Buhari following widespread allegations of grand-scale corruption within the NDDC.
More recently, Minister of the Federal Capital Territory, Nyesom Wike, alleged that the wife of a former minister received N48 billion within a single year under the guise of training the women of the Niger Delta.
Counsel for the applicants, Kolawole Oluwadare, emphasised the public’s right to scrutinise government actions.
They argued that the NDDC audit report is not classified information, and that continued concealment undermines citizens’ ability to hold leaders accountable and weakens the rule of law.
“There is an overriding public interest in the publication and disclosure of the NDDC forensic report.
“The continuing failure to publish the report denies the plaintiffs the ability to study its contents and pursue accountability for the documented corruption,” the lawyer stated.
Citing international human rights instruments, the plaintiffs insisted that access to public information is a critical component of freedom of expression and civic participation.
They stressed that information regarding the NDDC audit falls squarely within this right and cannot be withheld arbitrarily or indefinitely.
“Access to public information is a fundamental human right protected by Article 9 of the African Charter on Human and Peoples’ Rights and Article 19 of the International Covenant on Civil and Political Rights.
“These treaties obligate Nigeria to respect, promote, and ensure transparency,” the suit reads.
They also invoked the principle of ‘maximum disclosure,’ a core tenet of the right to information, stipulating that transparency should be the default, and secrecy the rare exception.
Any restriction, they noted, must be lawful, necessary, proportionate, and justifiable under international law.
“The burden is on the Nigerian government to prove that withholding the NDDC audit is consistent with its human rights obligations,” they added.
Furthermore, the plaintiffs stated that the government’s inaction obstructs victims of corruption from seeking legal redress and undermines the integrity of public institutions.
“By denying access to this information, the Nigerian government is violating our right to an effective legal remedy. Secrecy and impunity cannot be the norm in a democratic society,” they said.
No date has been fixed for the hearing of the case.
NIGERIAN TRIBUNE
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