By Abdulwahab  Abdulah

Socio-Economic Rights and Accountability Project, SERAP has urged the acting Chief Justice of Nigeria, Justice Water Samuel Onnoghen to immediately appoint an independent counsel to investigate allegations of corruption in the spending of $16 billion on electricity by the government of former President Olusegun Obasanjo.

Obasanjo

SERAP’s request which was brought in line with the Provision of Section 52 of the Independent Corrupt Practices and Other Related Offences Act 2000, was to enable the administration of ex-president Obasanjo explained how the fund was expended.

In the letter signed by a senior staff counsel with SERAP,Timothy Adewale and dated November 24, 2016, stated that the body made the request based on the outcome of a parliamentary hearing by the House of Representatives in Abuja over the spending of $16 billion between 1999 and 2007 on the power project.

According to SERAP, it was revealed through testimonies of witnesses before the Committee that the “$16 billion budgeted for the power project may have been stolen by some state officials and others, and cannot be accounted for.”

The body pointed out that Section 52 of the Corrupt Practices Act requires the Chief Justice of Nigeria to authorise an independent counsel to investigate any allegation of corruption against high level public officials at the federal or state level and to report his findings to the National Assembly or appropriate house of assembly.