The suit 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 money may have been diverted.
The Socio-Economic Rights and Accountability Project (SERAP) has initiated legal action against the Nigerian National Petroleum Company (NNPC) Limited for its alleged failure to account for and explain the whereabouts of missing oil revenues totaling USD$2.04 billion and N164 billion.
In the lawsuit filed at the Federal High Court in Abuja, SERAP seeks an order of mandamus to compel NNPC to provide details of the missing funds, hand over suspected perpetrators to anti-corruption agencies for investigation and prosecution, and ensure the full recovery and remittance of the missing amounts into the Federation Account.
SERAP argues that the public has a legitimate interest in the disclosure of these details, emphasizing the detrimental impact of the missing oil revenues on the country’s economy and public services. The organization highlights NNPC’s repeated failure to account for public funds, as documented by the Auditor-General over the years.
The lawsuit, filed by SERAP’s lawyers Kolawole Oluwadare and Kehinde Oyewumi, underscores NNPC’s accountability failures and its lack of transparency and integrity. It cites specific instances where NNPC allegedly failed to remit assessed oil royalties and government revenue into the Federation Account, urging for accountability and recovery of the missing funds.
No hearing date has been set for the lawsuit, which seeks to hold NNPC accountable and recover the missing oil revenues for the benefit of the Nigerian people.