SERAP Sues FG Over Secrecy on NDDC Forensic Audit Report

SERAP Sues FG Over Secrecy on NDDC Forensic Audit Report.
Suit filed at ECOWAS Court seeks immediate public release of report.
Plaintiffs say access to report key to transparency and accountability.

The Socio-Economic Rights and Accountability Project (SERAP), alongside four Nigerian citizens, has dragged the federal government before the ECOWAS Community Court of Justice over its failure to publish the forensic audit report of the Niger Delta Development Commission (NDDC).

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EKO HOT BLOG reports that the audit, ordered by former President Muhammadu Buhari in 2019, allegedly uncovered the mismanagement of ₦6 trillion from 2001 to 2019.

According to SERAP’s Deputy Director, Kolawole Oluwadare, the legal action, filed last Friday and marked ECW/CCJ/APP/35/25, seeks a declaration that withholding the report violates the right to access public information under international human rights law.

The plaintiffs — Prince Taiwo Aiyedatiwa, Chief Jude Pulemote, Ben Omietimi Tariye, and Princess Elizabeth Egbe — insist that the government’s refusal to release the document contradicts its obligations under the African Charter on Human and Peoples’ Rights and the International Covenant on Civil and Political Rights.

The suit demands a court order compelling the Nigerian government to publish the forensic report and adopt effective transparency and accountability measures for managing NDDC funds. The plaintiffs argue that access to the report is a necessary tool to hold public officials accountable and promote democratic participation.

Citing recent corruption allegations, including claims by FCT Minister Nyesom Wike that a former minister’s wife received ₦48 billion to train women in the Niger Delta, SERAP insists the audit must be made public.

The group maintains that secrecy undermines public trust and enables impunity. It added that access to information is a fundamental right, and any restrictions must be lawful, necessary, and proportionate.

No date has been set for the court hearing.