The Socio-Economic Rights and Accountability Project (SERAP) has filed a lawsuit against President Muhammadu Buhari for not disclosing names of people from whom ‘N800 billion in looted public funds’ have been recovered.

Development Diaries understands that joined in the suit, which was filed at the Federal High Court in Abuja, are the Attorney General of the Federation and Minister of Justice, Abubakar Malami, SAN, and the Minister of Finance, Budget, and National Planning, Mrs Zainab Ahmed.

The Nigerian government had earlier in July 2020, via a statement from the Minister of Information, Lai Mohammed, said it had recovered over N800 billion in looted funds.

‘This administration’s fight against corruption is as strong as ever, and we have the records to back up this claim’, the minister had said.

‘This administration has recorded over 1,400 convictions, including high profile ones, and recovered funds over N800 billion, not to talk of forfeiture of ill-gotten properties’.

But in the suit, SERAP is arguing that ‘The court ought to compel the respondents to disclose the details and whereabouts of the public funds. There is no legally justifiable reason why the information should not be made widely available to Nigerians, especially as the Nigerian Constitution of 1999 (as amended) requires the government in section 15(5) to abolish all forms of corruption’.

The suit comes two months after SERAP had in a Freedom of Information request asked the president ‘to direct the Attorney General of the Federation and Minister of Justice, Abubakar Malami, SAN, and the Minister of Finance, Budget and National Planning, Zainab Ahmed, to publish a comprehensive list of names of people from whom N800 billion in looted funds have been recovered, the details of spending of the money and the dates of the recovery’.

SERAP is also seeking ‘an order of mandamus to direct and compel president Buhari to instruct appropriate anti-corruption agencies to promptly, thoroughly and transparently investigate the alleged payment of N51 billion of public funds into individual private accounts in 2019’.

Source: Daily Trust

Photo source: US Institute of Peace