The Socio-Economic Rights and Accountability Project (SERAP) have filed a suit against the Nigerian National Petroleum Company Limited (NNPCL) over its failure to account for N500 billion shortfall in remittances to the Federation Account between October and December 2024.
The lawsuit follows a World Bank report which revealed that, out of the N1.1 trillion earned by the NNPCL from crude oil sales and other sources during the period, only N600 billion was remitted, leaving a deficit of N500 billion unaccounted for.
The NNPCL, through its legal representatives, Afe Babalola and Co, in response to a Freedom of Information (FoI) request from SERAP, claimed that the FoI Act does not apply to the company.
However, in suit number FHC/L/MSC/553/2025 filed at the Federal High Court in Lagos last Friday, May 30, SERAP is seeking a mandamus order compelling the NNPCL to provide a full account of the missing N500 billion and to disclose its whereabouts.
Additionally, SERAP is urging the court to direct the NNPCL to involve relevant anti-corruption agencies in investigating the matter, recovering the alleged missing funds, and remitting them to the Federation Account.
The organization also demands that those responsible be identified, surcharged for the full amount, and handed over to anti-corruption authorities for prosecution.
“The NNPCL has a responsibility to comply with the Nigerian Constitution 1999 [as amended], the Freedom of Information Act, and the country’s international human rights and anticorruption obligations in the exercise of its statutory functions,” SERAP said.
“The missing oil revenues have further damaged the already precarious economy in the country and contributed to high levels of deficit spending by the government and the country’s crippling debt crisis.”