The Socio-Economic Rights and Accountability Project has filed a accusation adjoin President Bola Tinubu over his administration’s abortion to delving declared missing funds for unaccounted oil revenues and adjustment of refineries amid 2020 and 2021.
This is independent in a annual appear by the organisation’s agent director, Kolawole Oluwadare, which was fabricated accessible to Findwhosabi on Sunday.
The allegations are independent in the 2021 address by the Nigeria Extractive Industries Accuracy Initiative.
Oluwadare acclaimed that the organisation, amidst added things, seeks the cloister adjustment to bulldoze Tinubu to “direct adapted anti-corruption agencies to delving allegations of bribery involving the Nigerian Petroleum Development Company Limited, Nigerian Upstream Petroleum Regulatory Commission (NPDC) and Accompaniment Owned Enterprises.”
In the clothing cardinal FHC/L/CS/2334/2023 filed aftermost Friday at the Federal High Cloister in Lagos, SERAP is gluttonous “an adjustment of mandamus to absolute and bulldoze President Tinubu to delving the allegations that US$15 billion of oil revenue, and N200 billion approaching to adjustment and advance the refineries in Nigeria are missing and unaccounted for.”
SERAP is additionally gluttonous “an adjustment of mandamus to bulldoze President Tinubu to absolute adapted anti-corruption agencies to delving allegations of bribery involving the Nigerian Petroleum Development Company Limited, Nigerian Upstream Petroleum Regulatory Commission (NPDC) and Accompaniment Owned Enterprises (SOE).”
SERAP is additionally gluttonous “an adjustment of mandamus to bulldoze President Tinubu to use any recovered gain of bribery to enhance the abundance of Nigerians.”
SERAP argues that “many years of allegations of bribery and bribery in the spending of oil revenues and dispensation of perpetrators accept debilitated accessible assurance and aplomb in governments at all levels.”
In the suit, SERAP is arguing that “There is a accepted accessible absorption in ensuring amends and accountability for these austere allegations. Granting the reliefs approved would end the dispensation of perpetrators and ensure amends for victims of corruption.”
SERAP additionally argues, “The allegations of bribery accurate by NEITI attenuate bread-and-butter development of the country, allurement the majority of Nigerians in abjection and bankrupt them of opportunities.”
According to SERAP, “Unless the President is directed and accountable to get to the basal of these anathema revelations, doubtable perpetrators would abide to adore dispensation for their crimes and adore the fruits of their crimes.”
SERAP additionally argues, “The allegation by NEITI advance a grave bribery of the accoutrement of the Nigerian Architecture 1999 [as amended], civic anticorruption laws, and the country’s obligations beneath the UN Assemblage adjoin Corruption.”
The clothing filed on annual of SERAP by its lawyers, Kolawole Oluwadare, Andrew Nwankwo, and Ms Valentina Adegoke, apprehend in part, “The Tinubu government has a built-in assignment to ensure accuracy and accountability in the spending of the country’s oil wealth.”
“SERAP is gluttonous an adjustment of mandamus to absolute and bulldoze President Tinubu to put in abode mechanisms for accountability and accuracy in the oil sector.”
“Section 13 of the Nigerian Architecture imposes bright albatross on the government to accommodate to, beam and administer the accoutrement of Chapter 2 of the constitution. Section 15(5) imposes the albatross on the government to ‘abolish all base practices and bribery of power’ in the country.”
“Under Section 16(1) of the Constitution, the government has a albatross to ‘secure the best welfare, abandon and beatitude of every aborigine on the base of amusing amends and adequation of cachet and opportunity.’”
“Section 16(2) added provides that, ‘the actual assets of the nation are acclimatized and broadcast as best as accessible to serve the accepted good.’”
“Similarly, accessories 5 and 9 of the UN Assemblage adjoin Bribery additionally appoint acknowledged obligations on the government to ensure able administering of accessible diplomacy and accessible funds, and to advance cellophane administering of accessible affairs.”
“The UN Assemblage adjoin Bribery and the African Union Assemblage on Preventing and Combating Bribery obligates the government to finer anticipate and investigate the bloodthirsty of the country’s abundance and accustomed assets and authority accessible admiral and non-state actors to annual for any violations.”
“Specifically, commodity 26 of the UN assemblage requires the government to ensure ‘effective, commensurable and dissuasive sanctions’ including bent and non-criminal sanctions, in cases of admirable corruption.”
“Article 26 complements the added accepted claim of commodity 30, branch 1, that sanctions charge booty into annual the force of the bribery allegations.”
“Nigeria is additionally a accommodating accompaniment of the Extractive Industries Accuracy Initiative (EITI), which aims to advance greater authoritative accountability for the use of accustomed ability abundance through the conception of a set of all-embracing norms on acquirement transparency.”
“EITI additionally aims to accouterment corruption, poverty, and battle associated with accustomed ability wealth. Nigeria has the obligations to apparatus the EITI Standard, which sets out the accuracy norms with which accommodating States including Nigeria charge comply.”
“According to the 2021 address by NEITI, government agencies including the Nigerian Petroleum Development Company (NNPC) and the Nigerian Upstream Petroleum Regulatory Commission (NPDC) bootless to address $13.591 actor and $8.251 billion to the accessible treasury.”
“The NNPC and NPDC bootless to address over 70% of these accessible funds. NEITI wants both the NNPC and NPDC to be investigated, and for the missing accessible funds to be absolutely recovered.”
“The address additionally shows that in 2021, the Accompaniment Owned Enterprises (SOE) and its subsidiaries (the NNPC Group) reportedly spent US$ 6.931 billion on annual of the Federal Government but after allotment by the Civic Assembly. The money may be missing.”
“The NNPC additionally reportedly acquired a accommodation of $3 billion in 2012 purportedly to achieve subsidy payments due to petroleum artefact marketers but there is no acknowledgment of the capacity of the loan, subsidy, and the beneficiaries of the payments.”
“The address additionally shows that N9.73 billion was paid to the NNPC as activity busline acquirement becoming from Joint Venture operations but the money was neither remitted to the Federation nor appropriately accounted for. The NPDC in 2021 additionally bootless to address $7.61 actor accomplished from the auction of awkward oil.”
“The address abstracts that about N200 billion was spent on ‘refineries rehabilitation’ amid 2020 and 2021 but ‘none of the refineries was operational in 2021 admitting the spending.’ NEITI wants the spending to be investigated, as the money may be missing.”
Joined in the clothing as Respondent is Mr. Lateef Fagbemi, SAN, the Attorney Accepted of the Federation and Minister of Justice.
No date has been anchored for the audition of the suit.