The Socio-Economic Rights and Accountability Project (SERAP) has secured a landmark judgment from the Federal High Court in Abuja directing President Bola Tinubu to release the long-awaited forensic audit report on the Niger Delta Development Commission (NDDC) and publish the names of those implicated in the alleged diversion of more than six trillion naira between 2000 and 2019.
Justice Gladys Olotu delivered the ruling on 10 November in response to an FOI suit filed by SERAP in 2021. The certified true copy of the judgment was obtained last week. The court held that the audit report and the list of indicted individuals fall squarely within the definition of public records and cannot be withheld under the exemption clauses of the Freedom of Information Act.
The judge found that the refusal of the presidency and the Attorney General to publish the report, despite a formal request, breached their statutory duties and ran contrary to the Constitution and Nigeria’s obligations to promote transparency in public spending. She noted that the Act places a clear duty on public institutions to disclose financial information.
Justice Olotu explained that SERAP had met the conditions for an order of mandamus by demonstrating a legal right to the information, a corresponding duty on the presidency to act, and a failure to fulfil that duty. She stressed that every person has the right to access public records unless the law expressly provides otherwise.
SERAP deputy director Kolawole Oluwadare hailed the ruling as a significant step towards accountability for the abandoned 13,777 projects in the Niger Delta. He urged the president to comply without delay and provide leadership in addressing the allegations of widespread mismanagement.
Human rights lawyer Femi Falana, SAN, praised the judgment and described SERAP’s intervention as a vital act of public interest litigation. He called on the government to enforce the ruling, recover stolen funds and prosecute those found culpable.
In a letter dated 22 November, SERAP pressed the president to implement the judgment and demonstrate a break from past failures to confront corruption within the Commission. The group emphasised that compliance would reinforce respect for the rule of law and strengthen public confidence in governance.
SERAP’s suit argued that the missing funds and abandoned projects have continued to undermine the rights of residents in the region by limiting access to essential services such as education, healthcare and electricity.
The court ultimately granted two orders of mandamus compelling the president to publish both the full forensic audit report and the list of those indicted.
