The Socio-Economic Rights and Accountability Project (SERAP) has taken legal action by filing a lawsuit in the Federal High Court in Lagos, Nigeria, against President Bola Tinubu's government. SERAP is demanding transparency and accountability regarding the loans obtained by former presidents since 1999. The organization is asking the court to compel the government to publish the spending details of these loans, including interests and other payments made. SERAP argues that citizens have the right to access information about their government's activities, and transparency obligations should require the publication of loan agreements and details of the projects on which the loans were spent. The lawsuit also highlights the need to address the issue of extreme poverty in Nigeria despite the billions of dollars in loans obtained by successive governments. The suit was filed by SERAP's lawyers Kolawole Oluwadare and Andrew Nwankwo [808e050d] [70fbe6de].
This lawsuit builds on SERAP's ongoing efforts to advocate for transparency and accountability in Nigerian politics. The organization has previously filed lawsuits against Nigerian governors and the Minister of the Federal Capital Territory, Abuja, over their failure to account for loans obtained by their states and the FCT, as well as their failure to publish copies of the loan agreements and details of projects executed with the loans. SERAP has also challenged the legality of states' pension laws and called on former President Muhammadu Buhari to comply with a court judgment ordering the recovery of pensions received by former governors [65bde288] [eb278a5c]. By urging government officials to publish their asset declaration forms, SERAP aims to ensure transparency and accountability in the Nigerian government [359fa74a].
The total public domestic debt portfolio for Nigeria currently stands at N97.3 trillion ($108 billion), with the Federal Government's debt accounting for N87.3 trillion ($97 billion). The Tinubu administration has yet to respond to the lawsuit [70fbe6de].