asking him “to direct Mr Abubakar Malami, SAN, Attorney General of the
Federation and Minister of Justice and Mrs Zainab Ahmed, Minister of
Finance, Budget and National Planning to publish a comprehensive list of
names of people from whom N800 billion in looted funds have been
recovered, the details of spending of the money and the dates of the
recovery.”
SERAP also urged the president to: “direct appropriate anti-corruption
agencies to promptly, thoroughly and transparently investigate
allegations that payments totalling N51 billion were made into
individual accounts in 2019.”
In the letter dated 13 June, 2020 and signed by SERAP deputy director
Kolawole Oluwadare, the organization said: “Publishing the details
regarding the N800 billion recovered loot and investigating the alleged
suspicious payments into personal accounts would be entirely consistent
with fundamental principles of due process, and Nigeria’s international
anti-corruption commitments.”
According to SERAP, “The information will also reveal the truth of where
money is going and why it is there, and allow Nigerians an opportunity
to assess the impacts of any projects carried out with the recovered
loot and the alleged payments into individual accounts.”
The letter, copied to Mr Malami and Mrs Ahmed, read in part: “The public
has a right to know how recovered N800 billion loot has been spent, and
the details and purpose of the alleged payments into individual
accounts.”
“As a signatory to the UN Convention against Corruption, the African
Union Convention on Preventing and Combating Corruption, and the African
Charter on Human and Peoples’ Rights, Nigeria has committed to ensure
transparent management of public resources, and unhindered access to
public information. These commitments ought to be fully upheld and
respected.”
“Transparency over transactions by the government is critical to
ensuring public confidence in the integrity of management of public
resources. The authorities are required to set the highest standards of
transparency, accountability and probity in the management of these
resources and the programmes that they oversee.”
“We would be grateful if the requested information is provided to us
within 7 days of the receipt and/or publication of this letter. If we
have not heard from you by then, the Registered Trustees of SERAP shall
take all appropriate legal actions under the Freedom of Information Act
to compel you to comply with our request.”
“Publishing the details of projects on which the N800 billion recovered
loot have been spent and a comprehensive list of names of people from
whom they have been recovered, as well as investigating allegations of
payment of billions of naira into individual accounts, and the projects
for which the payments were made, would also serve the best interests of
the general public.”
“SERAP notes that in your speech to mark the occasion of the Democracy
Day on June 12, 2020, you disclosed that the government’s
anti-corruption fight has yielded over N800 billion in recovered loot.”
“SERAP also notes that BudgIT, a civic tech organization, recently
reported that the open treasury portal by the federal government has
allegedly shown that payments totalling N51 billion were made into
individual accounts in 2019.”
“SERAP is seriously concerned about the allegations that the
government’s transparency portal shows some payment of naira into
individual accounts.”