The Socio-Economic Rights and Accountability
Project (SERAP) has sued the Federal Government
for not releasing the names of those who stole
money from the country’s coffers.
SERAP wants the court to determine 'Whether by
virtue of the provision of section 4(a) of the
Freedom of Information Act 2011, the Defendants
are under an obligation to provide the Plaintiff with
the information requested for.'
They also want the court to declare that 'by virtue of
the provisions of Section 4 (a) of the Freedom of
Information Act 2011, the Defendants are under a
binding legal obligation to provide the Plaintiff with
up to date information relating to the following:
'To widely disseminate, including on a dedicated
website, information about the names of high
ranking public officials from whom public funds
were recovered since May 2015, and the
circumstances under which stolen public funds were
returned.'
Premium Times also reports that SERAP had earlier
made a FREEDOM OF Information request to the
minister of information, Lai Mohammed, asking for
'information about the names of high ranking public
officials from whom public funds were recovered
and the circumstances under which funds were
recovered, as well as the exact amount of funds
recovered from each public official.'
President Muhammadu Buhari, during his maiden
media chat in December 2015, said that names of
those who returned looted public funds would not
be divulged, lensing the determination of cases in
courts.
