The Socio-Economic Rights and Accountability Project and four concerned Nigerians have filed a lawsuit against the government of President Bola Tinubu over its failure to publish the report of the forensic audit carried out on the Niger Delta Development Commission.
According to SERAP, this report implicated top officials and politicians in the disappearance of N6 trillion from the agency between 2001 and 2019.
The development was disclosed in a statement by SERAP’s Deputy Director, Kolawole Oluwadare,
on Sunday.
Former President Muhammadu Buhari had in 2019 ordered the forensic audit following widespread allegations of grand corruption within the NDDC.
SERAP stated that more recently, the Minister of the Federal Capital Territory, Nyesom Wike, alleged that the wife of a former minister received N48bn over 12 months “to train Niger Delta women.”
The plaintiffs in the suit include Prince Taiwo Aiyedatiwa, Chief Jude Igbogifurotogu Pulemote, Ben Omietimi Tariye, and Princess Elizabeth Egbe.
Filed last Friday before the ECOWAS Community Court of Justice in Abuja and marked ECW/CCJ/APP/35/25, 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.”
They are also 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,” and “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 argue, “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.”
They further argue, “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 claimed that 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 them and the general public.
They argued that the government is legally obligated to uphold transparency and grant access to the report, as part of the broader right to seek, receive, and share information.
The suit, filed by lawyers Kolawole Oluwadare, Kehinde Oyewumi, and Andrew Nwankwo on behalf of SERAP and the four citizens, stated, “There is an overriding public interest in the publication and disclosure of the NDDC forensic report.
“The Nigerian government’s continuing failure to publish the NDDC forensic report denies the plaintiffs the ability to truly study the report and hold the government to account, as well as damages the rule of law and violates the plaintiffs’ other rights.
“The information sought is not classified information for reasons of national security, as the NDDC forensic report relates to issues of transparency, accountability and human rights, which are covered under the African Charter on Human and Peoples’ Rights and the International Covenant on Civil and Political Rights.”
They added, “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, which require the Nigerian government to respect, promote and ensure it. Nigeria has ratified both human rights treaties.
“Article 9 of the African Charter on Human and Peoples’ Rights and Article 19 of the International Covenant on Civil and Political Rights include a positive obligation on the Nigerian government to allow the plaintiffs to access the NDDC forensic report under its custody and control.
“Access to information is a basic tool for building citizenship, and the plaintiffs have the right to participate in matters of public interest, such as pursuing accountability and justice for victims of corruption documented in the NDDC forensic report.”
“These matters of public interest are part of the ideals underlying the African Charter on Human and Peoples’ Rights and the International Covenant on Civil and Political Rights and other human rights treaties to which Nigeria is a state party.
“Access to information regarding the NDDC forensic report would enable the plaintiffs to effectively exercise their human rights and to hold the Nigerian government to account for the allegations documented in the report.
“Public access to the NDDC forensic report would also promote democratic participation, and empower the citizens to hold the Nigerian government accountable and to control corruption in the country.
“In order to guarantee the full and effective exercise of the right of access to information, state administration, including the Nigerian government must follow the principles of maximum disclosure and good faith.”
They noted that the principle of maximum disclosure underpins the right to information as outlined in Article 9 of the African Charter on Human and Peoples’ Rights and Article 19 of the International Covenant on Civil and Political Rights.
The suit explained that this principle establishes transparency and access to information as the default, with restrictions permitted only in narrowly defined and justified cases.
According to the suit, access to information should be the norm, while secrecy must remain the exception.
They acknowledged that the right is not unlimited and may be subject to restrictions.
However, they emphasised that any such restrictions must fully align with international human rights standards, meaning they must be clearly defined by law, pursue a legitimate objective, and be both necessary and proportionate to achieving that objective.
The suit further read, “However, the exceptions should not become the general rule; they must take into account that access to information is the rule and secrecy the exception.”
“The Nigerian government has the burden of proof of demonstrating that limits to publishing and accessing information regarding the NDDC forensic report are compatible with international human rights standards and the corresponding legal obligations imposed on the country.
“Since the NDDC forensic report is in the custody of the Nigerian government and under its control, discretionary and arbitrary acts of the State must be avoided in establishing restrictions on the right to information and transparency.
“The denial of access to information regarding the NDDC forensic report is a violation of the plaintiffs’ right to a legal remedy and incompatible with the requirements of the African Charter on Human and Peoples’ Rights and International Covenant on Civil and Political Rights.”
SERAP said no date has been fixed yet for the hearing of the suit.
