The Socio-Economic Rights and Accountability Project (SERAP) has urged President Bola Tinubu to publish the long-delayed forensic audit report of the Niger Delta Development Commission (NDDC) and prosecute those allegedly obstructing its release.
In a letter dated 5 July 2025 and signed by its deputy director, Kolawole Oluwadare, SERAP called on Tinubu to instruct the Attorney-General of the Federation, Lateef Fagbemi (SAN), and anti-corruption agencies to act swiftly on the audit, which exposes alleged misappropriation of over N6 trillion and identifies more than 13,000 abandoned projects in the Niger Delta between 2000 and 2019.
SERAP urges Tinubu
SERAP warned that failure to act would further erode public trust, stating that “justice delayed is justice denied” for victims of corruption in the region.
Read Also: 2027: SERAP demands review of INEC REC nominations
The organisation accused some powerful officials and politicians of deliberately blocking the report to shield themselves, citing allegations that the wife of a former minister received N48 billion within a year for vague “training” programmes. It also noted that many NDDC contracts allegedly went to members of the National Assembly.
“The forensic audit report of the NDDC can no longer be left to gather dust,” SERAP stated, adding that the Buhari administration failed to act on the report submitted in September 2021.
The group threatened legal action before the ECOWAS Court if the report remains unpublished within seven days.
SERAP insisted that publishing the report and bringing perpetrators to justice would demonstrate the Tinubu administration’s commitment to fighting corruption, as required under Nigeria’s Constitution and the UN Convention against Corruption.
The group also demanded that recovered funds be used to compensate affected communities and revive neglected infrastructure in the Niger Delta.
Despite the audit costing taxpayers N1.4 billion, its findings have remained hidden, raising concerns that the exercise was merely a political smokescreen.
