The Federal High Court in Abuja has delivered a landmark judgment compelling President Bola Ahmed Tinubu to direct the Attorney General of the Federation and Minister of Justice to publicly release the names of all individuals indicted in the alleged misappropriation of over ₦6 trillion allocated for the execution of 13,777 abandoned projects under the Niger Delta Development Commission (NDDC) between 2000 and 2019.
The ruling was handed down on Monday, November 10, by Justice Gladys Olotu in suit number FHC/ABJ/CS/1360/2021, filed by the Socio-Economic Rights and Accountability Project (SERAP) under the Freedom of Information (FOI) Act.
Court Orders Release of NDDC Forensic Audit Report
In addition to naming those allegedly involved in the massive financial discrepancies, the court also ordered President Tinubu to publish and make available to the public the full NDDC forensic audit report, which was formally submitted to the Federal Government on September 2, 2021.
The audit, commissioned to uncover years of mismanagement within the intervention agency, reportedly exposed widespread irregularities, abandoned projects, and systemic corruption across the commission’s operations.
SERAP Hails Judgment as Victory for Transparency
SERAP, which initiated the case to compel disclosure of the findings, described the judgment as a significant win for transparency, accountability and public interest, particularly in the Niger Delta where the abandoned projects were expected to improve infrastructure and living conditions.
The organisation said the ruling has now placed a legal obligation on the Federal Government to reveal the identities of those implicated and to open the audit findings to public scrutiny.
Pressure Mounts on FG to Act
The judgment is expected to increase public pressure on the Tinubu administration to take decisive action on long-standing corruption allegations within the NDDC — an agency repeatedly criticised for poor project delivery despite massive funding allocations over the years.
𝗙𝗼𝗹𝗹𝗼𝘄 𝗢𝘂𝗿 𝗪𝗵𝗮𝘁𝘀𝗔𝗽𝗽 𝗖𝗵𝗮𝗻𝗻𝗲𝗹 𝗧𝗼 𝗚𝗲𝘁 𝗟𝗮𝘁𝗲𝘀𝘁 𝗡𝗲𝘄𝘀 𝗔𝘀 𝗜𝘁'𝘀 𝗗𝗿𝗼𝗽!
