The Socio-Economic Rights and Accountability Project has taken legal action against President Bola Tinubu’s government.
They are demanding the publication of spending details for loans obtained by former presidents Olusegun Obasanjo, Umaru Musa Yar’Adua, Goodluck Jonathan, and Muhammadu Buhari.
SERAP’s lawsuit targets the Minister of Finance and Coordinating Minister of the Economy, Mr. Wale Edun, and the Debt Management Office (DMO). The suit, filed last Friday at the Federal High Court in Lagos, seeks to compel the government to release the loan agreements and spending details.
“No one should be able to pull curtains of secrecy around decisions on the spending of public funds which can be revealed without injury to the public interest. Democracy requires accountability and accountability requires transparency,” SERAP argued.
They believe that making these details public will help Nigerians understand why, despite billions of dollars in loans, many citizens still face extreme poverty and lack basic services. “Nigerians’ right to a democratic governance allows them to appreciably influence the direction of government, and have an opportunity to assess progress and assign blame,” SERAP stated.
SERAP’s lawyers, Kolawole Oluwadare and Andrew Nwankwo, emphasized that publishing these agreements would improve accountability in government ministries and agencies. “Nigerians are entitled to information about what their government is doing in their name. This is part of their right to information,” they said.
The total public domestic debt for Nigeria is N97.3 trillion ($108 billion), with the Federal Government’s debt at N87.3 trillion ($97 billion). SERAP noted that substantial parts of the loans obtained since 1999 may have been mismanaged, diverted, or remain unaccounted for.
“The Tinubu government has a responsibility to ensure transparency and accountability in how any loans obtained by the Federal Government are spent, to reduce vulnerability to corruption and mismanagement,” SERAP added.
They cited several laws supporting their demand, including the Nigerian Constitution, the Freedom of Information Act, and international human rights treaties. According to these laws, citizens have the right to access information about their government’s activities.
No date has been set for the hearing of the suit.
