Socio-Economic Rights and Accountability Project (SERAP) has asked a Federal High Court in Lagos for an order of mandamus directing the Nigerian National Petroleum Company (NNPC) Limited to account for the alleged missing N500 billion, which it allegedly failed to remit to the Federation Account between October 2024 and December 2024.”
SERAP is also urging the court to compel the NNPCL to invite appropriate anti-corruption agencies to investigate the spending and whereabouts of the N500 billion and ensure the prompt recovery and remittance of the money to the Federation Account.
The civil society organisation is further praying the court to direct NNPCL to identify those suspected to be responsible for the alleged missing oil funds, surcharge them for the full amount involved, and hand them over to appropriate anti-corruption agencies for investigation and prosecution.
SERAP filed the suit, which is yet to be assigned to a judge, after the oil company failed to act on its Freedom of Information request regarding the alleged missing funds.
In response to SERAP’s FoI request, the NNPCL claimed through its lawyers, Afe Babalola and Co, that the FOI Act does not apply.
However, in the suit, the plaintiff argued that the NNPCL is responsible for complying with the 1999 Nigerian Constitution 1999, the Freedom of Information Act, and the country’s international human rights and anticorruption obligations in exercising its statutory functions.
It also submitted that the Supreme Court, in a groundbreaking judgment, recently declared that the Freedom of Information Act applies to the Federation’s public records, including those kept by the NNPCL.
SERAP further stated that the missing oil revenues have further damaged the country’s already precarious economy, contributed to high government deficit spending, and caused the country’s crippling debt crisis.
The plaintiff maintained that the missing oil revenue reflects a failure of NNPCL’s accountability more generally and is directly linked to the institution’s continuing inability to uphold the principles of transparency and accountability.
SERAP also insisted that the NNPCL’s failure to remit the money to the Federation Account is a grave violation of public trust, the provisions of the Nigerian Constitution, national anti-corruption laws, and the country’s anti-corruption obligations.
It further averred that there is a legitimate public interest in providing the details sought and that the respondent has a legal responsibility to account for and explain the whereabouts of the missing oil money.
SERAP stated, “The revenue and other income were expected to be paid into the Federation Account and shared by all levels of government, but the NNPCL reportedly failed to do so.
“SERAP submitted that Section 15(5) of the Nigerian Constitution requires public institutions to abolish all corrupt practices and abuse of power.
“Section 13 of the Nigerian Constitution imposes clear responsibility on the NNPCL to conform to, observe, and apply the provisions of Chapter 2 of the Constitution.
“Nigeria has made legally binding commitments under the UN Convention against Corruption to ensure accountability in the management of public resources. Articles 5 and 9 of the UN Convention against Corruption also impose legal obligations on the NNPCL to ensure proper public affairs and funds management.
“The missing oil revenue has also impeded Nigerians’ ability to enjoy their economic and social rights and denied them access to essential public goods and services, especially during the cost of living crisis in the country.
“Had the NNPCL accounted for and remitted the alleged missing N500 billion to the Federation Account, it is likely that more funds would have been allocated to the fulfilment of economic and social rights, such as increased spending on public goods and services.
“The Freedom of Information Act, Section 39 of the Nigerian Constitution, Article 9 of the African Charter on Human and Peoples’ Rights and Article 19 of the International Covenant on Civil and Political Rights guarantee to everyone the right to information on the whereabouts of the missing N500 billion of oil revenue.
“The country’s oil wealth ought to be used solely for the benefit of the Nigerian people and the present and future generations.
“Without the full recovery and remittance of the missing N500 billion oil revenues, the dire economic situation may worsen. Nigerians will continue to be denied access to basic public goods and services.
“Nigerians have the right to know why the NNPCL failed to remit the subsidy removal savings to the Federation Account and why the NNPCL is deliberately denying states and local governments their allocations from the Account, contrary to the provisions of the Nigerian Constitution.
“Despite the country’s enormous oil wealth, ordinary Nigerians have derived minimal benefit from oil money primarily because of widespread grand corruption and the entrenched culture of impunity of perpetrators.
“Combating the corruption epidemic in the oil sector would alleviate poverty, improve access of Nigerians to basic public goods and services, and enhance the ability of the government to meet its human rights and anti-corruption obligations.
“The Nigerian Constitution, Freedom of Information Act, and the country’s anti-corruption and human rights obligations rest on the principle that citizens should have access to information regarding the spending of their commonwealth.
“The Auditor-General of the Federation and Nigeria Extractive Industries Transparency Initiative (NEITI) have documented reports of the disappearance of oil money from the NNPCL for many years.
“The World Bank recently disclosed that out of the N1.1 trillion revenue from crude sales and other income in 2024, the NNPC only remitted N600 billion, leaving a deficit of N500 billion unaccounted for,” SERAP stated. No date has been fixed for the hearing of the suit.
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