By Peter Omopo
Abuja, July 6, 2025 — The Socio-Economic Rights and Accountability Project (SERAP) has called on President Bola Tinubu to direct the Attorney-General of the Federation, Lateef Fagbemi (SAN), to investigate and prosecute those allegedly responsible for stalling the publication of the long-awaited forensic audit report on the Niger Delta Development Commission (NDDC).
In a letter dated July 5, 2025, and signed by SERAP’s Deputy Director, Kolawole Oluwadare, the organisation urged the President to also instruct relevant anti-corruption agencies to act on the findings of the report, which was commissioned by the administration of former President Muhammadu Buhari and submitted in September 2021.
Despite widespread public interest and repeated demands, the report—which spans NDDC operations between 2000 and 2019—has remained unpublished.
“While the audit report may make uncomfortable reading for the indicted officials and politicians, your government has a constitutional responsibility to publish it and act upon its recommendations,” SERAP said in the letter.
The group warned that failure to release the audit amounts to a deliberate attempt to obstruct justice and deny the people of the Niger Delta transparency and accountability regarding allegations of corruption and widespread project abandonment.
“The forensic audit report of the NDDC can no longer be left to gather dust,” the statement read. “The continued failure to publish the audit report undermines public trust, particularly among victims of corruption in the Niger Delta who have waited too long for justice.”
SERAP also alleged that the audit uncovered the misappropriation of over ₦6 trillion and identified more than 13,000 abandoned projects across the oil-rich region. It claimed that some powerful politicians and government officials may have worked to block the report’s release to protect themselves from legal consequences.
The organisation blamed the Buhari administration for failing to act on the audit findings and warned that should the Tinubu administration fail to respond within seven days of receiving the letter, it would initiate legal action before the ECOWAS Court of Justice to compel the government to comply.
The NDDC audit report remains a flashpoint in Nigeria’s long-running struggle with accountability and transparency in the management of oil-derived revenues intended for regional development.
