The Socio-Economic Rights and Accountability Project has initiated legal action against the Nigerian National Petroleum Company Limited, accusing it of “failure to disclose details of Nigeria’s daily oil production, exportation, and the total amounts of revenues generated from oil since the removal of subsidy on petrol in May 2023.”
The Deputy Director of SERAP, Kolawole Oluwadare, released a statement on Sunday, outlining the grounds for the lawsuit.
Former Central Bank Governor Sanusi Lamido Sanusi had raised concerns about the NNPC’s failure to remit enough foreign exchange into the treasury despite the removal of fuel subsidy.
In the filed suit numbered FHC/ABJ/CS/1719/2023 at the Federal High Court in Abuja, SERAP is seeking “an order of mandamus to direct and compel the NNPC to disclose details of barrels of oil Nigeria produces and exports daily and the total amounts of revenues generated since the removal of subsidy on petrol.”
Additionally, SERAP is requesting “an order of mandamus to compel the NNPC to disclose how much of the revenues generated from the production and exportation of oil have been remitted to the public treasury since the removal of subsidy on petrol.”
The suit also demands “an order of mandamus to direct and compel the NNPC to disclose details of payment of 11 Trillion Naira made as subsidy payments from 1999 to May 2023, including a detailed breakdown of the payments made.”
SERAP argues that transparency is essential for preventing the diversion of oil revenues into private pockets, ensuring public confidence, and promoting accountability in the oil sector.
The failure to disclose the requested information is seen as a violation of the Nigerian Constitution, the Freedom of Information Act, and the country’s obligations under the African Charter on Human and Peoples’ Rights.
The organization asserts that transparency in this regard would enhance public confidence, combat corruption, and contribute to poverty alleviation and improved access to public goods and services.
