THE Socio-Economic Rights and Accountability Project (SERAP) has filed a lawsuit against the Nigerian National Petroleum Company Limited (NNPCL) over what it termed “failure to account for and explain the whereabouts of the alleged missing $2.04 billion and N164 billion oil revenues.”
According to SERAP, this followed the allegations documented in the recently published 2020 audited report by the Auditor-General of the Federation that the NNPC failed to remit the money into the federation account, saying that the funds may have been diverted.
The SERAP disclosed this in a statement signed by its deputy director, Kolawole Oluwadare, on Sunday, April 28.
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The suit marked FHC/ABJ/CS/549/2024 was filed on Friday, April 26, at the Federal High Court in Abuja.
In the suit, SERAP is seeking “an order of mandamus to direct and compel the NNPC to account for and explain the whereabouts of the missing USD$2.04 billion and N164 billion oil revenues, as documented in a report by the Auditor-General.”
In the statement, SERAP urged the NNPCL to hand over suspected perpetrators to the Independent Corrupt Practices and Other Related Offences Commission (ICPC) and the Economic and Financial Crimes Commission (EFCC) for investigation and prosecution.
The group also urged the anti-graft agencies to ensure the full recovery and remittance of the missing funds to the federation account.
SERAP stated that the failure to account for the missing oil revenues echoes the nation’s oil giant’s inability to maintain the principles of transparency and accountability.
In condemning the missing oil revenues, SERAP lamented that “more funds would have likely been allocated to the fulfilment of economic and social rights of Nigerians, such as increased spending on public goods and services, had the NNPCL and its subsidiaries accounted for and remitted the disappeared public funds into the federation account.”
SERAP added, “The missing oil revenues have also impeded Nigerians’ ability to enjoy their economic and social rights and denied them access to essential public goods and services, especially at the time of cost of living crisis in the country.”
The SERAP argued that the NNPC had a legal responsibility to account for and explain the whereabouts of the disappeared money.
“Without the full recovery and remittance of the missing USD$2.04 billion and N164 billion oil revenues, the dire economic situation may worsen, and Nigerians will continue to be denied access to basic public goods and services,” the group said.
The SERAP said the Auditor-General of the Federation had reportedly documented complaints of missing public fund from the NNPC for many years.
It added that the Auditor-General of the Federation was concerned that the funds might have been siphoned into private accounts, depriving the government of the necessary revenue to carry out its operations.
A date for the hearing of the suit has not been fixed.
A reporter with the ICIR
A Journalist with a niche for quality and a promoter of good governance