SERAP sues Buhari over names of suspected looters of N6tn NDDC funds
The President, Muhammadu Buhari.
Socio-Economic Rights and Accountability Project has filed a lawsuit against the President Muhammadu Buhari (retd.), “over his failure to publish the names of those indicted in the alleged misappropriation of over N6 trillion in the running of the Niger Delta Development Commission between 2000 and 2019, as documented in the recent Forensic Audit Report on NDDC.”
The suit with number FHC/ABJ/CS/1360/2021 filed at the Federal High Court, Abuja, has SERAP seeking “an order of mandamus to direct and compel President Buhari to publish the names of those indicted in the alleged misappropriation of over N6trn in the running of the Niger Delta Development Commission (NDDC) between 2000 and 2019.”
Justice Binta Nyako at Court 2 will attend to the suit fixed for hearing on November 29, 2021.
SERAP is also seeking “an order of mandamus to compel President Buhari to direct Mr Abubakar Malami SAN, the Attorney General of the Federation and Minister of Justice and appropriate anti-corruption agencies to bring to justice anyone suspected to be responsible for the missing N6trn, and to fully recover any stolen public funds.”
SERAP is arguing that “it is in the public interest to promptly publish the names of those indicted in the audit report, and to ensure that they face prosecution, as appropriate.”
According to SERAP, “The public interest in publishing the names of those indicted by the audit report outweighs any considerations to withhold the information, as there would be no prejudice against those whose names are published as long as the information is appropriately framed and truthful.”
The rights group is also arguing that “the Buhari administration has legal obligations under Section 15(5) of the Nigerian Constitution 1999 [as amended] to abolish all corrupt practices and abuse of power, and article 26 of the UN Convention against Corruption to ensure effective prosecution of allegations of corruption.”
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