A FEDERAL High Court sitting in Abuja has ordered President Bola Ahmed Tinubu to direct the Attorney General of the Federation (AGF) to publish the names of all individuals and companies indicted in the alleged misappropriation of over ₦6 trillion meant for the Niger Delta Development Commission (NDDC) between 2000 and 2019.
News Point Nigeria reports that the landmark judgment, delivered by Justice Gladys Olotu on Monday, November 10, and obtained in certified form last Friday, arose from a Freedom of Information (FOI) suit filed by the Socio-Economic Rights and Accountability Project (SERAP) in November 2021.
The ruling mandates the Federal Government to immediately release the full NDDC Forensic Audit Report, which was submitted to former President Muhammadu Buhari on September 2, 2021, but has remained undisclosed for over four years.
Justice Olotu held that the forensic audit report and the names of those implicated are “public records” within the meaning of Section 31 of the Freedom of Information Act, and therefore cannot be withheld by the government.
She stated that the information sought by SERAP does not fall under any of the exemptions allowed by Sections 11–19 of the FOI Act.
“The refusal of the President and the Attorney General to publish the audit report or act on the allegations, despite a clear statutory demand, constitutes a violation of their duties under the Freedom of Information Act, Section 15(5) of the 1999 Constitution (as amended), and Nigeria’s international obligations to promote transparency and accountability,” Justice Olotu ruled.
She further emphasized that the FOI Act imposes a mandatory not discretionary duty on all public institutions to disclose information relating to the management of public funds.
Reacting to the ruling, SERAP’s Deputy Director, Kolawole Oluwadare, described the judgment as a “historic victory for transparency,” adding that Nigerians deserve to know how trillions allocated for development in the Niger Delta vanished without trace.
“This ruling reinforces the principle that public funds must be accounted for. We urge President Tinubu to comply immediately in the interest of justice and good governance,” he said.
Human rights advocate Femi Falana, SAN, commended the court for what he called “one of the most patriotic judgments ever delivered in the fight for accountability.”
He warned that any attempt by the Federal Government to ignore the ruling would undermine the credibility of the anti-corruption war and erode public trust.
SERAP has already written to President Tinubu in a letter dated November 22, 2025, urging him to enforce the judgment without delay.
The organisation noted that publishing the forensic audit and the list of culprits would not only satisfy public interest but also signal a renewed commitment to transparency, justice, and the rule of law core pillars of the Tinubu administration’s reform agenda.
Between 2000 and 2019, the NDDC received an estimated ₦6 trillion for infrastructure development across the Niger Delta, but successive administrations and investigative reports have repeatedly noted that the region has little to show for the massive inflows.
The forensic audit was commissioned in 2019 to uncover the scale of misappropriation, abandoned projects, political interference, and contract fraud that had plagued the agency. Despite public expectations, the findings have been kept out of public view until now.
