What You Need to Know:
A Nigerian NGO– The Socio-Economic Rights and Accountability Project (SERAP)– has announced its intention today to sue President Tinubu over a $3.4 Billion International Monetary Fund (IMF) loan that is “missing, diverted, or unaccounted for.”
The loan, received in 2020 by former President Buhari was intended to finance the budget and enable Nigeria to respond to the COVID-19 pandemic.
However, Nigeria’s Auditor-General released an audit report on the 2020 fiscal year last week, with SERAP claiming “The findings by the Auditor-General suggest a grave violation of the public trust, the provisions of the Nigerian Constitution 1999 [as amended], national anti-corruption laws, and the country’s obligations under the UN Convention against Corruption.”
“Unless the President is directed and compelled to get to the bottom of these damning revelations, suspected perpetrators would continue to enjoy impunity for their crimes and enjoy the fruits of their crimes.”
“There is a legitimate public interest in ensuring justice and accountability for these serious allegations. Granting the reliefs sought would end the impunity of perpetrators and ensure justice for victims of corruption” said SERAP.
President Tinubu has been under fire in recent weeks following his appointment of his son-in-law as the Chief Executive Officer (CEO) of the country’s Federal Housing Agency, which a civil rights agency claimed signalled a worrying return to nepotism and corruption in the country.
SERAP’s Lawyers Kolawole Oluwadare and Andrew Nwankwo are seeking an “order of mandamus to direct and compel President Tinubu to ensure the effective prosecution of anyone suspected to be responsible for the alleged mismanagement and diversion of the $3.4 billion IMF loan obtained by Nigeria to finance the budget and respond to the COVID- 19 pandemic.” As well as “an order of mandamus to direct and compel President Tinubu to ensure the full recovery of the missing $3.4 billion IMF loan obtained by Nigeria to finance the budget and respond to the COVID- 19 pandemic.”
However, no date for the case has been set thus far.
