The Socio-Economic Rights and Accountability Project (SERAP) has filed a lawsuit against the Nigerian National Petroleum Company Limited (NNPCL) over its alleged failure to account for N500 billion reportedly not remitted to the Federation Account between October and December 2024.
The suit, filed last Friday at the Federal High Court in Lagos and marked FHC/L/MSC/553/2025, follows recent allegations by the World Bank that out of N1.1 trillion generated from crude oil sales and other sources in 2024, only N600 billion was remitted by NNPCL.
In response to a Freedom of Information (FoI) request by SERAP, NNPCL, through its legal representatives Afe Babalola and Co, claimed the FoI Act does not apply to the company.
SERAP is asking the court for an order of mandamus to compel NNPCL to account for the missing N500 billion and remit it to the Federation Account. It is also seeking a court directive for NNPCL to invite relevant anti-corruption agencies to investigate the alleged missing funds and ensure their recovery.
Additionally, SERAP is asking the court to compel NNPCL to identify individuals allegedly responsible for the unremitted funds, surcharge them, and hand them over to appropriate authorities for investigation and prosecution.
In its filings, SERAP argued that NNPCL is obligated to comply with the Nigerian Constitution, the Freedom of Information Act, and international anti-corruption commitments. The organisation also cited recent Supreme Court rulings affirming the applicability of the FoI Act to all public records, including those of NNPCL.
The suit was filed on behalf of SERAP by its legal team comprising Kolawole Oluwadare, Oluwakemi Oni, and Valentina Adegoke.
No date has been set for the hearing.
Nzubechukwu Eze
