A Federal Excessive Court docket sitting in Port Harcourt has struck out a go well with in search of the discharge of the forensic audit report of the Niger Delta Growth Fee.
The go well with, filed by Mr. Paul Arochukwu Ogbonna and one other on behalf of the civil society group Social Motion, was instituted towards the Legal professional Normal of the Federation, requesting the courtroom to compel the federal government to make the audit report public.
Presiding over the matter, Justice Turaki Mohammed struck out the case on the grounds that it was filed towards a non-existent authorities company.
The plaintiffs had initially approached the courtroom in 2022 after the Ministry of Niger Delta Affairs declined to launch the forensic audit report. Following the dissolution of the ministry by President Bola Ahmed Tinubu, the plaintiffs amended their go well with to incorporate the Legal professional Normal of the Federation as a respondent.
Regardless of the modification, the courtroom dominated that the go well with couldn’t proceed because of procedural defects regarding the celebration sued.
Chatting with journalists after the ruling, counsel to the plaintiffs, Victor Nweke, expressed dissatisfaction with the choice, noting that the case was struck out—not dismissed—leaving room for it to be refiled.
“We’re not glad… we’ll come again. The matter was not dismissed; it was merely struck out,” he mentioned, including that they intend to pursue the case once more to make sure entry to the report.
Nweke argued that beneath Nigeria’s transparency legal guidelines, residents are entitled to entry public paperwork, together with reviews held by authorities establishments.
Additionally reacting, Ogbonna, head of authorized for Social Motion in Rivers State, described the go well with as a part of a broader anti-corruption marketing campaign geared toward selling accountability within the administration of public funds allotted to the NDDC.
He maintained that Nigerians have a proper to understand how billions of naira invested within the fee have been utilised through the years, significantly given ongoing considerations about improvement within the Niger Delta area.
The forensic audit of the NDDC was commissioned to analyze {financial} actions and venture execution inside the company, amid longstanding allegations of mismanagement and corruption.
By Blessing Ibunge
Times Nigeria