Socio-Economic Rights and Accountability Project (SERAP) has sued Bola Tinubu for failing to direct the Attorney General, Lateef Fagbemi, to probe the missing N57 billion from the Ministry of Humanitarian Affairs.
The damning allegations are documented in the 2021 audited report released last month by the Office of the Auditor-General of the Federation.
In the suit number FHC/L/MISC/876/2024 filed last Friday at the Federal High Court, Lagos, SERAP is asking the court “to compel Tinubu to direct Mr Fagbemi to work with appropriate anti-corruption agencies to promptly probe allegations that over N57 billion of public funds are missing, diverted or stolen from the Federal Ministry of Humanitarian Affairs and Poverty Alleviation in 2021.”
SERAP is also asking the court “to compel Tinubu to direct Fagbemi to work with appropriate anticorruption agencies to prosecute anyone suspected to be responsible for the missing N57 billion, if there is sufficient admissible evidence, and to recover any missing public funds.”
In the suit, SERAP is arguing that: “Investigating the allegations and prosecuting those suspected to be responsible for the missing N57 billion and recovering the missing funds would end the impunity of perpetrators.”
SERAP is also arguing that, “The allegations amount to stealing from the poor. There is a legitimate public interest in ensuring justice and accountability for these grave allegations.”
According to SERAP, “Poor Nigerians have continued to pay the price for the widespread and grand corruption in the Federal Ministry of Humanitarian Affairs and Poverty Alleviations and other ministries, departments and agencies [MDAs].”
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SERAP is also arguing that, “The consequences of corruption are felt by citizens on a daily basis. Corruption exposes them to additional costs to pay for health, education and administrative services.”
SERAP said, “The allegations also suggest a grave violation of the public trust, the Nigerian Constitution 1999 (as amended), the country’s anticorruption legislation and international anticorruption obligations.”
The suit filed on behalf of SERAP by its lawyers, Kolawole Oluwadare and Oluwakemi Agunbiade, read in part: “Granting the reliefs sought would go a long way in addressing corruption in ministries, departments and agencies [MDAs] and the country’s budget deficit and debt problems.”
“The damning revelations are documented in the 2021 audited report released recently by the Office of the Auditor-General of the Federation. Hundreds of billions of naira are also reportedly missing in other MDAs.”
“According to the 2021 annual audited report by the Office of the Auditor-General of the Federation, the Federal Ministry of Humanitarian Affairs and Poverty Alleviation, [the Ministry] in 2021 failed to account for over N54 billion [N54,630,000,000.00] meant to pay monthly stipends to Batch C1 N-Power volunteers and non-graduate trainees between August and December 2021.”
“The money was ‘not directly paid to the beneficiaries.’”
“The Auditor-General is concerned that the money ‘may have been diverted.’ He wants the money recovered and remitted to the treasury. He also wants suspected perpetrators of the diversion to be sanctioned in line with the Financial Regulations.”
“The Ministry also reportedly failed to account for over N2.6 billion [N2,617,090,786.00] of public funds meant for the ‘home grown school feeding programme during Covid-19’, as ‘the programme was never executed.’”
“The money was allegedly paid to five contractors to ‘procure, package and distribute Covid-19 palliatives to Kano, Zamfara and Abia states,’” but without any trace.
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