A Federal High Court in Abuja has directed President Bola Tinubu to order the Attorney General of the Federation to immediately publish the full Niger Delta Development Commission (NDDC) forensic audit report and release the names of those indicted in the alleged misappropriation of more than N6 trillion allocated to 13,777 abandoned projects between 2000 and 2019.
The judgment was delivered on November 10 by Justice Gladys Olotu following a Freedom of Information suit filed by the Socio-Economic Rights and Accountability Project (SERAP), marked FHC/ABJ/CS/1360/2021.
In her ruling, Justice Olotu declared that the audit report and the list of indicted individuals are public records under Section 31 of the Freedom of Information Act.
She added that the documents are not exempted under Sections 11 to 19 because they relate directly to the use and management of public funds.
Justice Olotu held that the refusal of the president and the Attorney General to release the audit report, despite formal requests from SERAP, breaches their statutory duties under the FOI Act, Section 15(5) of the 1999 Constitution, and Nigeria’s international promise to uphold transparency and accountability.
She emphasised that public institutions are legally obligated to publish financial details, and that the president has a clear duty to make the NDDC report accessible to the public.
SERAP’s deputy director, Kolawole Oluwadare, described the judgment as a groundbreaking victory for transparency in the handling of public resources. Human rights lawyer, Femi Falana, SAN, praised the ruling, calling it one of the most patriotic public interest cases in Nigeria.
He urged President Tinubu to promptly publish the report and prosecute those implicated, warning that any delay would weaken the fight against corruption.
In a letter dated November 22, 2025, SERAP reminded President Tinubu to demonstrate his commitment to the rule of law by directing the Attorney General to publish the audit report and release the names of all individuals indicted in the alleged mismanagement of N6 trillion within the NDDC.
SERAP filed the suit in November 2021 to compel the disclosure of the audit findings and the identities of those involved in the alleged large-scale misappropriation in the commission.
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