Socio-Economic Rights and Accountability Project, SERAP, on Sunday, issued a threat to embark on legal action if the Federal Government, FG, fails to prosecute those behind the missing $15bn, and N200bn of oil revenues.
The group equally tasked President Bola Ahmed Tinubu to set up a presidential panel of enquiry to probe the allegations that over US$15 billion of oil revenues, and N200 billion budgeted to repair the refineries are missing and unaccounted for between 2020 and 2021, as documented by the Nigeria Extractive Industries Transparency Initiative, NEITI.
In a statement signed by its Deputy Director, Kolawole Oluwadare, SERAP, which further urged the president to name and shame anyone suspected to be responsible for the missing and unaccounted public funds and to ensure their effective prosecution as well as the full recovery of any proceeds of crime, asked President Tinubu to fully implement all the recommendations by NEITI in its 2021 report, and to use any recovered proceeds of crime.
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Referring to its letter dated September 23, 2023, the group insisted that, “There is a legitimate public interest in ensuring justice and accountability for these serious allegations. Taking these important measures would end the impunity of perpetrators.
“As President and Minister of Petroleum Resources, your office ought to be concerned about these damning revelations, by getting to the bottom of the allegations and ensuring that suspected perpetrators are promptly brought to justice, and any missing public funds fully recovered”.
While maintaining that any failure to investigate the allegations, and bring suspected perpetrators to justice would exacerbate the country’s debt burden, SERAP declared that it would also create cynicism, suspicion, and eventual citizens’ distrust about the ability of the government to combat high-level official corruption, as well as deter foreign investment and limit growth and development.
“We would therefore be grateful if the recommended measures are taken within seven days of the receipt and/or publication of this letter. If we have not heard from you by then, SERAP shall consider appropriate legal actions to compel your government to comply with our request in the public interest”, the group added.
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