SERAP drags NNPCL to court Over Missing N825bn, $2.5bn

The Socio-Economic Rights and Accountability Project (SERAP) has taken legal action against the Nigerian National Petroleum Company Limited (NNPCL).

SERAP claims that NNPCL has failed to explain what happened to N825 billion and $2.5 billion that were meant for fixing Nigeria’s refineries and other oil-related expenses.

This follows serious concerns raised in the 2021 audit report by the Auditor-General of the Federation, released on November 27, 2024.

Recently, businessman Aliko Dangote also stated that the NNPCL refineries might never work again, even after $18 billion has been spent on them.

The lawsuit was filed last Friday at the Federal High Court in Lagos. SERAP is asking the court to:

Order NNPCL to explain what happened to the missing money.

Make NNPCL recover and return the missing funds to the national treasury.

Identify those responsible for the missing money, make them repay it, and hand them over to anti-corruption agencies for investigation and prosecution.

SERAP argues that the missing money shows a serious breach of public trust and goes against the Nigerian Constitution, anti-corruption laws, and international agreements Nigeria is part of.

SERAP says that returning the money would help hold those responsible accountable and support Nigerians who suffer from the lack of proper public services, especially in the oil sector.

They also point out that this loss of public funds has slowed down the country’s economic growth, increased poverty, and caused the government to borrow more.

According to SERAP, the Auditor-General has repeatedly reported missing money from NNPCL. Meanwhile, most Nigerians have seen little benefit from the country’s oil wealth.

The case was filed by SERAP’s legal team: Kolawole Oluwadare, Oluwakemi Oni, and Valentina Adegoke.