The Socio-Economic Rights and Accountability Project (SERAP) has called on President Bola Tinubu to publish the long-delayed forensic audit report on the Niger Delta Development Commission (NDDC) and prosecute those accused of stalling its release.
In a letter dated July 5, 2025, and signed by SERAP’s deputy director, Kolawole Oluwadare, the group urged Tinubu to instruct the Attorney General of the Federation, Lateef Fagbemi (SAN), to take swift action.
“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,” the organisation stated.
SERAP stressed that justice had been delayed far too long for people in the Niger Delta who suffer daily from the effects of grand corruption.
“The forensic audit report of the NDDC can no longer be left to gather dust. The continued failure to publish the audit report undermines public trust and confidence, particularly of victims of corruption in the Niger Delta who have waited far too long for justice and accountability,” it said.
The group alleged that certain high-ranking officials and politicians named in the report actively blocked its publication to avoid exposure.
“Obstructing the release of the forensic audit report or hiding it is a grave and wilful attempt to obstruct, prevent and pervert the course of justice for the allegations of corruption in the NDDC,” the letter read.
It went further to state: “Obstructing the release of the forensic audit report or hiding it, and delaying the implementation of its recommendations have enabled suspected perpetrators to evade justice and denied access to justice for victims.”
SERAP also reminded Tinubu that the audit, which reportedly cost the country ₦1.4 billion, was meant to reveal how over ₦6 trillion was misappropriated in the NDDC between 2000 and 2019.
According to SERAP, “The audit report raises prima facie evidence of grand corruption and its staggering effects in the Niger Delta.
“Nigerians have the right to know the names of those responsible for obstructing the publication of the forensic audit report.”
The group warned that if the government failed to act within seven days of receiving the letter, it would take the case to the ECOWAS Court of Justice.
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“We would be grateful if the recommended measures are taken within 7 days of the receipt and/or publication of this letter.
“If we have not heard from you by then, SERAP shall take all appropriate legal actions before the ECOWAS Court of Justice to compel your government to comply with our request in the public interest,” it stated.
SERAP said publishing the audit and prosecuting those involved would show that Tinubu’s government is serious about fighting corruption.
It also cited Nigeria’s obligations under the UN Convention Against Corruption, which calls for transparent investigations and effective punishment for corrupt acts.
The organisation lamented that despite Nigeria’s oil wealth, corruption has deprived ordinary citizens of basic services.
“The missing ₦6 trillion and over 13,000 abandoned projects in the Niger Delta have continued to have a negative impact on the human rights of Nigerians, undermining their access to basic public goods and services, such as education, healthcare, and regular and uninterrupted electricity supply,” SERAP said.
It added: “Using the audit report to genuinely combat the corruption epidemic in the NDDC, and rein in those indicted would help to alleviate poverty, improve access of Nigerians in the region to basic public goods and services, and enhance the ability of your government to meet its human rights and anti-corruption obligations.”
SERAP also alleged that “most of the contracts in the NDDC are also allegedly given out to members of the National Assembly,” and claimed that “the wife of a former minister allegedly collected ₦48 billion over 12 months to train Niger Delta women.”
The forensic audit was submitted to the Buhari administration in September 2021 but has not been released to the public.
SERAP concluded, “The failure to publish the report and fully implement its recommendations would seem to suggest that the forensic audit was not commissioned to provide transparency and accountability, but merely as a ruse to defer and avoid it.”