Justice Gladys Olotu of a Federal High Court in Abuja has ordered President Bola Tinubu to direct the office of the Attorney General of the Federation and Minister of Justice to widely publish the names of those indicted in the alleged misappropriation of over N6 trillion meant to implement the abandoned 13,777 projects and in the running of the Niger Delta Development Commission (NDDC) between 2000 and 2019.

The judge also ordered the president “to publish and make available to the public, the NDDC forensic audit report submitted to the federal government on September 2, 2021”.

Justice Olotu gave the directives while delivering judgement in a Freedom of Information suit marked FHC/ABJ/CS/1360/2021, filed by a rights group, the Socio-Economic Rights and Accountability Project (SERAP).

In her judgement, Justice Olotu noted the forensic audit report of the Niger Delta Development Commission (NDDC), as well as the names of persons indicted therein, clearly fall within the definition of ‘public records’ as contained in Section 31 of the Freedom of Information Act.

The judge further held that NDDC’s forensic audit report and the names of persons indicted therein are not exempted under Sections 11-19, as the information relates to the use and management of public funds.

“The refusal of the president and the Attorney General to publish the audit report or act on the allegations therein, despite formal demand by SERAP constitutes a breach of their statutory duties under the Freedom of Information Act, Section 15(5) of the Nigerian Constitution 1999 (as amended), and Nigeria’s international obligations to promote transparency and accountability.