The Federal High Court sitting in Abuja today fixed April 27 to deliver judgement in a suit seeking to compel the Central Bank of Nigeria (CBN) and the Attorney General of the Federation (AGF) to disclose how the $12.4 billion oil windfall money that accrued to the Federal Government between 1988 and 1994, was spent.
The suit was instituted before the High Court by six civil society groups led by the Socio-Economic Rights and Accountability Project (SERAP) under the Fundamental Rights (Enforcement Procedure) Rules 2009.
The other plaintiffs in the suit are: Women Advocates and Documentation Centre (WARDC); Human and Environmental Development Agenda (HEDA), Access to Justice (AJ); Partnership for Justice, and Committee for Defence of Human Rights (CDHR).
Though the judgment has been stalled since last year when hearing was concluded on the matter, however, Justice Gabriel Kolawole, today, ordered all the parties to appear on the next adjourned date to re-adopt their processes to enable him to give verdict on the case.
Specifically, the plaintiffs asked the court for “an order of mandamus compelling the respondents, individually and/or collectively, to publish detailed statement of account relating to the spending of $12.4 billion oil windfall between 1988 and 1994, and to publish in major national newspapers a copy of the statement of account.”
It would be recalled that in 1994, the Federal Government constituted the Pius Okigbo Panel with a mandate to investigate the activities of the CBN and recommend measures for the re-organization of the apex bank.
In the course of its assignment, the Okigbo Panel reportedly uncovered that about $12.4 billion that was reserved in the ‘Dedicated and Special Accounts’, was depleted to $200 million by June 1994.
Consequent upon the alleged mismanagement of the said $12.4 billion by the then military Head of State, General Ibrahim Babangida, the investigative Panel, recommended an immediate discontinuance of the said ‘Dedicated and Special Accounts’.
In their suit however, the plaintiffs further pleaded the court to order the respondents to not only prosecute anyone indicted by the report, but to also recoup the money from them and return same to the national treasury.
Besides, they also sought for an order directing the respondents to provide adequate reparation, which may take the form of restitution, compensation, satisfaction or guarantees of non-repetition to millions of Nigerians that had been denied their human rights as a result of the respondents’ failure and/or negligence to ensure transparency and accountability in the spending of $12.4 billion oil windfall between 1988 and 1994.
The duo preliminary objections that were raised against the suit by both the AGF and the CBN, the respondents pleaded the court to dismiss the suit on the premise that the plaintiffs were bereft of the locus-standi to approach the court for such reliefs as sought by them.
The CBN insisted that the suit was non justiceable, contending that it was not covered under the fundamental rights provisions of sections 33-46 of the 1999 Constitution.
The duo urged the court to reject the Okigbo panel report, saying it was not admissible in law considering that it was not published in a gazette, neither was an official white paper issued on it.
In the court today, the duo equally posited that they could not find the Okigbo report, and had no duty to render account on the spending of the accrued revenue.
The judge therefore postponed its ruling till April 27, 2012.
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