By Francis Ajuonuma
The Socio-Economic Rights and Accountability Project (SERAP) has sharply criticised the Federal Government over what it described as a deliberate refusal to obey a binding court judgment ordering the publication of the Niger Delta Development Commission (NDDC) forensic audit report and the names of those indicted in the alleged misappropriation of N6 trillion.
In a letter to the Attorney General of the Federation and Minister of Justice, Mr Lateef Fagbemi, SAN, SERAP warned that continued non-compliance could trigger contempt proceedings, insisting that the failure to enforce the judgment undermines the rule of law and entrenches a culture of impunity.
The judgment, delivered on November 10 by Justice Gladys Olotu of the Federal High Court, Abuja, followed a Freedom of Information suit filed by SERAP.
The court ordered both the Attorney General and President Bola Tinubu to publish the forensic audit report submitted to the Federal Government on September 2, 2021, along with the names of individuals indicted for the alleged mismanagement of funds earmarked for 13,777 abandoned NDDC projects between 2000 and 2019.
SERAP argued that, more than a month after the ruling, the government’s silence amounts to open defiance of the judiciary. According to the organisation, such conduct “makes a mockery of Nigeria’s legal and judicial processes” and signals that court orders can be ignored without consequence when politically inconvenient.
Citing Section 287(1) of the 1999 Constitution, SERAP stressed that court decisions are binding on all authorities and persons across the federation, warning that selective obedience to judgments poses a grave threat to constitutional democracy.
The rights group further accused the Attorney General, as the nation’s Chief Law Officer, of failing in his constitutional duty to uphold the law and advise the President to comply with judicial directives.
It said the refusal to act on the judgment fuels corruption within ministries, departments and agencies and weakens public confidence in anti-corruption commitments.
SERAP also noted that the continued withholding of the forensic audit report violates Nigeria’s international obligations on transparency and accountability, adding that the information sought clearly qualifies as public records under the Freedom of Information Act and is not protected by any statutory exemption.
Quoting the Supreme Court’s landmark decision in Governor of Lagos State v. Ojukwu, SERAP warned that a government that disobeys court orders “invites anarchy,” insisting that respect for the rule of law must begin with those in power.
The organisation gave the Attorney General and the President seven days to comply with the judgment, failing which it vowed to initiate contempt proceedings to compel obedience.
According to SERAP, immediate enforcement of the judgment would demonstrate a genuine commitment by the Tinubu administration to transparency, accountability and justice in the Niger Delta, and help restore public trust eroded by years of unresolved corruption allegations surrounding the NDDC.
