Kayode ShopekanPresident Muhammadu Buhari has been charged to court by Socio-Economic Rights and Accountability Project (SERAP) over failure to disclose names of those involved in the Niger Delta Development Commission (NDDC) financial misappropriation.
SERAP filed the lawsuit at a Federal High Court in Abuja, against President Buhari through its lawyers Kolawole Oluwadare and Opeyemi Owolabi.
This was contained in a statement released by SERAP on Sunday, where it said the suit is due to the failure of President Buhari “to publish the names of those indicted in the alleged misappropriation of over N6 trillion in the running of the Niger Delta Development Commission (NDDC) between 2000 and 2019, as documented in the recent Forensic Audit Report on NDDC.”
SERAP also sought “an order of mandamus to direct and compel President Buhari to publish the names of those indicted in the alleged misappropriation of over N6trn in the running of the Niger Delta Development Commission (NDDC) between 2000 and 2019.”
Mandamus order is an order from a court to a government official ordering the government official to properly fulfill their official duties or correct an abuse of discretion.
The mandamus order appeal is to compel President Buhari to direct Mr Abubakar Malami SAN, the Attorney General of the Federation and Minister of Justice and appropriate anti-corruption agencies to bring to justice anyone suspected to be responsible for the missing N6trn, and to fully recover any stolen public funds.
“It is in the public interest to promptly publish the names of those indicted in the audit report and to ensure that they face prosecution, as appropriate.
“The public interest in publishing the names of those indicted by the audit report outweighs any considerations to withhold the information, as there would be no prejudice against those whose names are published as long as the information is appropriately framed and truthful.
“Publishing widely the report and the names of those indicted would remove the possibility of obstruction of justice, and provide insights relevant to the public debate on the ongoing efforts to combat grand corruption and the longstanding impunity of perpetrators in the country.”
SERAP had in a letter dated 25 September 2021, requested President Buhari to publish the names of those indicted in the audit report.
The Forensic Audit Report into the activities of the NDDC confirms the allegations of misappropriation of N6 trillion in the commission between 2000 and 2019, and that there are over 13,000 abandoned projects in the Niger Delta.
Joined in the suit as Respondent is Mr Abubakar Malami, SAN.
The suit, which has been assigned to Honourable Justice Binta Nyako at Court 2, has Mr Abubakar Malami joined as a respondent. Hearing will commence on 29th November 2021.
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