The Lagos State division of the Federal High Court has ordered the federal government to make known to the public, names of individuals from whom money has so far been recovered in the ongoing anti-corruption campaign.
The ruling was given by Justice Hadiza Shagari in a Freedom of Information (FOI) suit brought against the federal government by the Socio-Economic Rights and Accountability Project (SERAP) a civil society organization.
Justice Shagari held that “the Federal Government has a legally binding obligation to tell Nigerians the names of all suspected looters of the public treasury past and present”.
She therefore ordered that government must “immediately release to Nigerians, information about the names of high-ranking public officials from whom public funds were recovered and the circumstances under which funds were recovered, as well as the exact amount of funds recovered from each public official.”
Reacting to the ruling, Timothy Adewale, SERAP’s deputy director, said it was “a victory for justice, rule of law, transparency and accountability in this country”.
“The judgment shows the way forward in the fight against corruption and impunity of perpetrators. We will do everything within the law to ensure full compliance by President Mohammadu Buhari and Acting President Osinbajo with this landmark judgment,” he added.
Also, TransparencIT Nigeria, an anti-corruption non-governmental organisation, took to Twitter to celebrate the development.
BREAKING: Court orders President @MBuhari and Vice President @ProfOsinbajo to release names of treasury looters. #FOIA pic.twitter.com/WBwgDiE1Ru
— transparencIT NG (@transparencITng) July 5, 2017
Last year, the Ministry of Information published details of money recovered from public officers between May 29, 2015 and May 29, 2016.
According to the ministry, the government successfully retrieved total cash amount N78,325,354,631.82; $185,119,584.61; £3,508,355.46 and €11, 250 between the period in review.
Also released were recoveries under interim forfeiture, which were a combination of cash and assets, during the same period: N126,563,481,095.43; $9,090,243,920.15; £2,484,447.55 and €303,399.17.
Anticipated repatriation from foreign countries totalled: $321,316,726.1; £6,900,000 and €11,826.11.
SERAP subsequently issued an FOI request, demanding that Lai Mohammed, the Minister of Information, must disclose the names of all those from whom the funds were retrieved.
“Publishing the names of public officials involved could go a long way in preventing senior public officials from turning the public treasury into a private cashbox,” the organisation said.
However, Mohammed refused to supply the required information within the time limit provided in the FOI Act, prompting SERAP to head to court.
And on Wednesday, the courts upheld SERAP’s prayers and ordered that names of looters of public treasury be made public.