The Socio-Economic Rights and Accountability Project, (SERAP), has called on the Attorney-General of the Federation and Minister of Justice, Lateef Fagbemi, (SAN), to immediately enforce a court judgment directing him and President Bola Tinubu to publish the names of those implicated in the alleged misappropriation of ₦6 trillion allocated to the Niger Delta Development Commission (NDDC) between 2000 and 2019.
The directive follows a ruling by Hon. Justice Gladys Olotu on 10 November, delivered in the Federal High Court, Abuja, in the course of a Freedom of Information suit (FHC/ABJ/CS/1360/2021) brought by SERAP. The court also ordered that the NDDC forensic audit report submitted to the federal government on 2 September 2021 be made publicly available.
In a letter dated 13 December 2025, signed by SERAP deputy director Kolawole Oluwadare, the organisation expressed concern over the continued failure by Fagbemi and the presidency to comply with the court’s order. “The continuing failure and/or refusal to publicly acknowledge the judgment and immediately enforce it makes a mockery of the country’s legal and judicial processes and the rule of law”, the letter read.
SERAP cited Section 287(1) of the 1999 Constitution, as amended, emphasising that “the decisions of Nigerian courts shall be enforced in any part of the Federation by all authorities and persons,” noting that the constitutional provision admits no exceptions. The organisation warned that non-compliance amounts to a “fundamental breach of both the letter and spirit of the Nigerian Constitution and a direct assault on the rule of law”.
The letter further stated, “The continuing failure to immediately obey Justice Olotu’s judgment exposes responsible officials to contempt proceedings, including personal liability”.
