By Henry Ojelu
Four years after the submission of a forensic audit report detailing the alleged misappropriation of over N6 trillion in the Niger Delta Development Commission, NDDC, the document remains shrouded in secrecy. No one has been held accountable, thousands of projects remain abandoned, and the suffering of Niger Delta communities continues.
Now, the Socio-Economic Rights and Accountability Project, SERAP, a leading civic watchdog, is ramping up its campaign for accountability—taking legal action, submitting public petitions, and calling out institutions that have failed to act.
From the NDDC to the Nigerian National Petroleum Company Limited, NNPCL, and 31 other government agencies, SERAP is pushing for transparency and prosecution where corruption is alleged to have stolen trillions of naira from the Nigerian people.
Hidden NDDC Audit: A Trillion-Naira Mystery
In a letter dated July 5, 2025, addressed to President Bola Tinubu, SERAP urged him to direct the Attorney-General of the Federation and Minister of Justice, Prince Lateef Fagbemi, SAN, to identify and prosecute individuals who allegedly suppressed the NDDC forensic audit report.
Commissioned under late President Muhammadu Buhari, the report covers NDDC financial activities between 2000 and 2019. According to SERAP, it documents the alleged embezzlement of over N6 trillion and identifies more than 13,000 projects abandoned across the nine oil-producing states.
“The report was submitted years ago but has not seen the light of day,” said Kolawole Oluwadare, SERAP’s deputy director, adding that “Obstructing its publication is a grave attempt to pervert the course of justice and deprives citizens of the truth about how public funds were spent—or looted.”
SERAP noted that N1.4 billion was approved for the conduct of the audit by external auditors, whose findings have since been shelved.
“The missing N6 trillion and abandoned projects have continued to negatively impact the rights of millions of Nigerians in the Niger Delta—denying them education, healthcare, clean water, electricity, and economic opportunities,” the group said.
While the audit reportedly names politicians, contractors, and senior public officials involved in the massive financial haemorrhage, successive administrations have refused to publish the report or act on its findings.
SERAP is now threatening to file a lawsuit before the ECOWAS Court of Justice to compel the Tinubu administration to release the full report, prosecute those indicted, and recover the looted funds.
NNPCL Oil Money: Where’s the N500bn?
In another legal battle, SERAP is challenging the Nigerian National Petroleum Company Limited, NNPCL, over what it describes as the failure to account for a missing N500 billion in crude oil revenue between October and December 2024.
According to a recent World Bank report, the NNPCL generated about N1.1 trillion in that period but only remitted N600 billion to the Federation Account—leaving a shortfall of N500 billion that remains unaccounted for.
In a suit filed at the Federal High Court, Lagos (FHC/L/MSC/553/2025), SERAP is asking the court to compel the company to explain and disclose the whereabouts of the funds.
Through its lawyers—Kolawole Oluwadare, Oluwakemi Oni, and Valentina Adegoke—SERAP argued that “Nigerians continue to bear the brunt of these missing public funds, which were meant for the economic development of the country.”
The group emphasized that the NNPCL, despite being a limited liability company, remains accountable to the Nigerian people as a custodian of public resources.
“The oil wealth belongs to the people,” SERAP said. “Unremitted funds increase economic hardship and deny citizens access to essential services like roads, schools, and power.”
In response to a Freedom of Information (FoI) request by SERAP, the NNPCL, through its legal counsel, Afe Babalola & Co., claimed that the FoI Act does not apply to it. SERAP insists otherwise and is pressing forward in court.
The suit is also seeking an order mandating the NNPCL to identify and surcharge those involved in the alleged misappropriation, and to hand them over to the Independent Corrupt Practices and Other Related Offences Commission, ICPC, and the Economic and Financial Crimes Commission, EFCC, for prosecution.
Ghost Contracts: N167bn Paid, No Projects Delivered
In yet another court action, SERAP is seeking justice over the misuse of N167 billion allegedly paid to contractors by 31 ministries, departments, and agencies, MDAs, for phantom projects.
In suit number FHC/L/MISC/121/2025, filed at the Federal High Court, Lagos, the group is asking the court to compel the President to instruct the AGF to investigate, name, and prosecute contractors who collected the money but failed to deliver any project.
The suit follows the 2021 audited report of the Auditor-General of the Federation, which identified the affected MDAs and listed several contractors who disappeared with funds meant for public service delivery.
“The disappearance of these funds has obstructed poor Nigerians’ access to healthcare, education, and infrastructure,” the group noted.
The Nigerian Bulk Electricity Trading Plc, NBET, alone reportedly paid N100 billion to such contractors. Other implicated agencies include the Petroleum Technology Development Fund, PTDF, Federal Ministry of Youth and Sports, Nigerian Correctional Service, National Pension Commission, and Hydrocarbon Pollution Remediation Project, HYPREP.
In a previous letter to the Minister of Finance, Wale Edun, and the Accountant-General of the Federation, Oluwatoyin Madein, SERAP demanded the publication of all contractor names and project details. It warned that continued silence would lead to legal enforcement.
“Holding these contractors accountable would reduce waste, deter fraud, and improve trust in public institutions,” SERAP argued.
Missing N26bn from Petroleum Funds
In a separate intervention, SERAP is calling for an investigation into allegations that over N26 billion was misappropriated from the PTDF and the Ministry of Petroleum Resources in 2021.
The claim was contained in the 2021 audit report published by the Office of the Auditor-General of the Federation in November 2024.
SERAP urged the President to ensure prosecution of any officials or contractors found culpable and to use recovered funds to offset Nigeria’s budget deficit and reduce its ballooning debt burden.
“There is a legitimate public interest in ensuring justice for these grave allegations,” the organisation said. “Tackling oil sector corruption would significantly improve Nigeria’s economic resilience.”
SERAP Warns Against Executive ‘Gifts’ to Judges
In yet another public advocacy action, SERAP raised alarm over the trend of executive officials—including the Minister of the Federal Capital Territory (FCT), Mr. Nyesom Wike, and several state governors—awarding cars and houses to judges.
The group described the practice as unconstitutional, arguing that it violates the principle of separation of powers and threatens the independence of the judiciary.
In a letter addressed to President Tinubu and copied to the UN Special Rapporteur on the Independence of Judges and Lawyers, SERAP stated: “Politicians must keep their hands off the judiciary and respect the rule of law.”
It urged the President to direct the AGF to challenge the legality of such executive gestures in court and called for an institutional solution to judicial welfare through constitutional mechanisms and the National Judicial Council, NJC.
“Judges should not be financially beholden to governors or ministers,” SERAP stated. “True judicial independence requires proper funding, not executive largesse.”
SERAP’s Expanding Legal Footprint
Founded to promote transparency, justice, and the rule of law, SERAP has become one of Nigeria’s most visible civil society actors on anti-corruption issues. The organisation received the Wole Soyinka Anti-Corruption Defender Award in 2014 and has been nominated for international recognitions including the UN Civil Society Award.
It currently serves as one of two Sub-Saharan African representatives on the UNCAC Coalition—a global network of over 310 civil society organisations in 100+ countries.
Through aggressive litigation, policy advocacy, and media engagement, SERAP continues to shine a spotlight on impunity in Nigeria’s public finance system. Its latest legal offensives signal that it is determined to force transparency and accountability from even the most powerful actors.
The Bigger Question
At the heart of all these interventions is one recurring question: What happened to trillions of naira meant for national development?
From the NDDC’s abandoned projects to NNPCL’s missing oil revenues, from ghost contractors paid billions to unexplained petroleum fund diversions—the Nigerian people are owed not just explanations, but justice.
SERAP’s message is clear: Publish the reports, prosecute the looters, recover the money, and restore public trust.
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