SERAP SUES FG OVER FAILURE TO PUBLISH NDDC FORENSIC AUDIT REPORT
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By Aishat Momoh. O.
The Socio-Economic Rights and Accountability Project (SERAP) and four concerned Nigerians have dragged the Nigerian government before the ECOWAS Court over its refusal to publish the forensic audit report of the Niger Delta Development Commission (NDDC), which allegedly implicates top officials in the mismanagement of N6 trillion between 2001 and 2019.
Filed on Friday, July 12, the lawsuit marked ECW/CCJ/APP/35/25 is seeking an order compelling the government of President Bola Tinubu to release the audit report, which was commissioned by former President Muhammadu Buhari in 2019 amid widespread allegations of corruption at the NDDC.
According to SERAP’s Deputy Director, Kolawole Oluwadare, the report already submitted to the government remains concealed from the public, violating Nigerians’ right to information, transparency, and accountability.
The plaintiffs Prince Taiwo Aiyedatiwa, Chief Jude Igbogifurotogu Pulemote, Ben Omietimi Tariye, and Princess Elizabeth Egbe argue that the refusal to publish the report amounts to a breach of Nigeria’s international obligations under the African Charter on Human and Peoples’ Rights and the International Covenant on Civil and Political Rights.
The suit also references recent allegations by the FCT Minister, Nyesom Wike, that N48 billion was dubiously paid to the wife of a former minister under the guise of training Niger Delta women.
The plaintiffs claim that the continued secrecy around the report undermines democratic accountability and enables impunity. “The Nigerian government has not only refused to release the NDDC forensic report but has also failed to offer any explanation for keeping it from the public,” they said.
They are urging the ECOWAS Court to order the government to publish the full forensic audit, ensure transparency in future spending of NDDC funds, and adopt measures to prevent corruption.
The suit, filed by lawyers Kolawole Oluwadare, Kehinde Oyewumi, and Andrew Nwankwo, underscores the growing pressure on authorities to end the cycle of impunity in the Niger Delta and respect citizens’ right to access public information.
No date has been fixed for the hearing.
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