By  Abdulwahab  Abdulah

LAGOS – The Federal Government has been dragged before a Federal High Court sitting in Ikeja over alleged failure to release  information and documents on the spending of recovered stolen funds.

The suit instituted by a non-governmental organisation, Socio-Economic Rights and Accountability Project, SERAP, prayed the court to, among other things, compel the Federal Government, through the office of the Accountant General of the Federation in line with the Freedom of Information law, furnish it with the spending of the recovered funds by the government.

Before now, the agency has written to the Accountant General to furnish it with the said information.

The motion ex-parte  brought pursuant to section 20 of the Freedom of Information Act and Order 34 of the Federal High Court (Civil Procedure) Rules, 2009, prayed the court, among others, to grant leave to SERAP to apply for judicial relief and seek an order of mandamus directing and or compelling the defendants/respondents whether by themselves and/or their agents, to make available to theapplicant the information requested as contained in a letter dated September 26, 2011 to the Accountant General of the Federation.

It also sought a declaration that the refusal of the respondents to individually or collectively disclose detailed information about the spending of recovered stolen public funds since the return of civilian rule in 1999, and to publish widely such information amounts to a breach of the fundamental principles of transparency and accountability and violates Articles 9, 21 and 22 of the African Charter on Human and Peoples’ Rights (Ratification and Enforcement) Act.

It also asked for a declaration that by virtue of the provisions of Section 4 (a) of the Freedom of Information Act 2011, the first defendant/respondent is under a binding legal obligation to provide the plaintiff/applicant with up-to-date information on the spending of recovered stolen funds, including:

Detailed information on the total amount of recovered stolen public assets that have so far been recovered by Nigeria, the amount that has been spent from the recovered stolen public assets and the objects of such spending, details of projects on which recovered stolen public assets were spent.

No date has been fixed for the hearing of the suit.