Court orders FG to release names of public officers in recovered funds

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8 years ago

A Federal High Court sitting in Lagos on Wednesday ordered the Federal Government to immediately release to Nigerians, information about the names of high ranking public officials from whom public funds were recovered.

The court also ordered the FG to release the circumstances under which the funds were recovered, as well as the exact amount of funds recovered from each public official.”

Justice Hadiza Rabiu Shagari delivered the judgement in a suit brought against the FV by Socio-Economic Rights and Accountability Project (SERAP).

Joined as defendants in the suit are the Minister of Information Alhaji Lai Muhammed and the Federal Ministry of Information and Culture.

In her judgment Justice Shagari averred that the Federal Government has legally binding obligation to tell Nigerians the names of all suspected looters of the public treasury past and present.

Justice Shagari also ordered that by the provisions of Section 4 (a) of the Freedom of Information Act 2011, to widely disseminate including on a dedicated website information about the names of high ranking public officials from whom public funds were recovered since May 2015 and also the circumstances under which stolen public funds were returned

In a statement after the judgement, Timothy Adewale, SERAP’s deputy director said, “this is a victory for justice, rule of law, transparency and accountability in this country”.

“The judgment shows the way forward in the fight against corruption and impunity of perpetrators. We will do everything within the law to ensure full compliance by President Mohammadu Buhari and Acting President Osinbajo with this landmark judgment.”

It would be recalled that the Ministry of Information last year published details of the recoveries, which showed that the Nigerian government successfully retrieved total cash amount N78,325,354,631.82, $185,119,584.61, £3,508,355.46 and €11, 250 between May 29, 2015 and May 25, 2016. Also released were recoveries under interim forfeiture, which were a combination of cash and assets, during the same period: N126,563,481,095.43, $9,090,243,920.15, £2,484,447.55 and €303,399.17.