SERAP seeks enforcement of court order on N6tr abandoned projects, NDDC funds

Socio-Economic Rights and Accountability Project (SERAP) has urged the Attorney General of the Federation (AGF) and Minister of Justice, Lateef Fagbemi (SAN), to immediately enforce the judgment compelling and directing him and President Bola Tinubu to widely publish the names of those indicted in the alleged misappropriation of N6 trillion meant to implement the abandoned 13,777 projects and in the running of the Niger Delta Development Commission (NDDC) between 2000 and 2019.

The judgment was delivered on November 10, 2025, by Justice Gladys Olotu following a Freedom of Information suit number: FHC/ABJ/CS/1360/2021, brought by SERAP.

The court also ordered Fagbemi and the President to publish the NDDC forensic audit report submitted to the Federal Government on September 2, 2021.

In a letter at the weekend and signed by the Deputy Director, Kolawole Oluwadare, the organisation said the continuous failure and/or refusal to publicly acknowledge the judgment and immediately enforce it make a mockery of the country’s legal and judicial processes and the rule of law.

SERAP noted that Section 287(1) of the Nigerian Constitution 1999 (as amended) provides that the decisions of Nigerian courts ‘shall be enforced in any part of the federation by all authorities and persons.’

This constitutional provision admits no exception and leaves no ambiguity.

The group stated that the ongoing failure and/or refusal to enforce the judgment is a fundamental breach of both the letter and spirit of the Nigerian Constitution and a direct assault on the rule of law.

It lamented that the continuous failure to immediately obey Justice Olotu’s judgment exposes responsible officials to contempt proceedings, including personal liability.

Obeying the judgment, the body said, would reinforce the primacy of the Constitution, and the country’s international obligations and show respect for the rule of law.

SERAP said: “The Attorney General is the Chief Law Officer of the Federation and as such has the responsibility to uphold the Nigerian Constitution, advise the government to ensure that its actions conform with judicial decisions, obey the rule of law and generally act in the public interest.”