Human rights lawyer and Senior Advocate of Nigeria, Femi Falana, has instituted a suit before the Federal High Court in Abuja seeking to compel the Nigerian Senate to release a report detailing alleged financial discrepancies amounting to over N210 trillion in the audited accounts of the Nigerian National Petroleum Company Limited.

  The suit, marked FHC/ABJ/CS/783/2026 and filed pursuant to the Freedom of Information (FOI) Act, 2010, is asking the court to issue an order of mandamus directing the Nigerian Senate to immediately disclose the findings of its Committee on Public Accounts to the applicant and the Nigerian public.

  The Senate Committee had reportedly flagged approximately N210 trillion in NNPCL’s audited financial statements spanning 2017 to 2023 as “unexplained” or “unsubstantiated.”

   The committee was said to have invited several current and former officials of the oil company, including former Group Chief Executive Officer Mele Kyari, to provide clarifications on the queried figures.

  Falana stated that in a bid to promote transparency and accountability in the management of public resources, he formally applied for access to the committee’s report via a letter dated March 13, 2026.

  The request, delivered to the Clerk of the Senate on March 16, 2026, was acknowledged but allegedly ignored, with no justification provided for the refusal.

  The senior lawyer is contending that the Senate’s failure to release the report violates provisions of the FOI Act, which guarantees public access to information held by government institutions.

   He further argued that the refusal undermines Section 39 of the 1999 Constitution (as amended), which affirms the right of citizens to receive and impart information.

  In the originating processes, Falana maintained that public institutions cannot lawfully withhold information of significant public interest unless such refusal is backed by legally recognized exemptions. He emphasized that transparency in the management of Nigeria’s petroleum resources is critical to democratic governance.

  The suit also relies on established judicial authorities, including Fawehinmi v. Inspector-General of Police and Shitta-Bey v. Federal Public Service Commission, to support the argument that courts possess the power to compel public officials to perform statutory duties where they have failed to do so.

  Falana argued that the Senate’s continued refusal to disclose the report deprives Nigerians of access to vital information concerning one of the largest alleged financial discrepancies linked to a public institution in recent history.

  “The respondent has failed to act in accordance with the Freedom of Information Act as it relates to the request of the applicant,” the suit stated, adding that the intervention of the court is necessary to compel compliance with the law.

  He is seeking, among other reliefs, a declaration that the Senate’s refusal to release the report is unlawful and a breach of the FOI Act, as well as an order of mandamus compelling immediate disclosure of the requested information.

No date has been fixed for the hearing of the suit.