Four years after the National Assembly Joint Committee on Host Communities has summoned the former Minister of Environment, Mohammed Hassan Abdullahi, in July 2022 over the $1bn Ogoni clean up project, the Ogoni Liberation Initiative has asked the Federal High Court in Abuja to stop officials of the Hydrocarbon Pollution Remediation Project, (HYPREP), from accessing or spending more than 62.5 billion Naira approved as a cost variation for projects the agency says have already been completed.
In an issued statement, the group said it has also sued HYPREP and others alleging that the approval of the money did not follow due process, and amounts to a misuse of public funds meant for the cleanup of Ogoniland.
The Convener of the Ogoni Liberation Initiative, Dr. Douglas Fabeke, claimed the organisation has submitted documents before the court showing alleged financial irregularities involving HYPREP.
He further alleged that some project funds cannot be accounted for and criticised the National Assembly committee overseeing the project for failing to release its oversight report.
In his reaction, the former Minister of Environment, Mohammed Abdullahi, has blamed some civil society organisations (CSOs), as well as some individuals in Rivers State for stalling Ogoni clean-up through unnecessary litigations.
The former Environment Minister, Barr. Mohammed Hassan Abdullahi, who recently lost the ADC Governorship primary election in Nasarawa State to Rtd. Gen. Nuhu Bala Angbazo, has since dragged the matter to a Federal High Court.
Abdullahi is already facing the Economic nd Financial Crimes Commission (EFCC) relating to critical questions bordering on the activities involved in the clean-up exercise.
