A Federal High Court in Lagos has mandated Ms. Sadia Umar-Farouk, former Minister of Humanitarian Affairs, Disasters Management and Social Development, to account for N729 billion disbursed to 24.3 million poor Nigerians over a six-month period. The court also instructed the former minister to provide a detailed list of beneficiaries, the number of states covered, and the payments per state.
The judgment, delivered last month by Hon. Justice Deinde Isaac Dipeolu, follows a Freedom of Information (FoI) suit numbered FHC/L/CS/853/2021, brought by the Socio-Economic Rights And Accountability Project (SERAP). SERAP obtained the certified true copy of the judgment last Friday.
In his ruling, Justice Dipeolu stated, “The former minister is compelled by the provisions of the Freedom of Information Act to give information to any person, including SERAP. I therefore grant an order of mandamus directing and compelling the minister to provide the spending details of N729 billion to 24.3 million poor Nigerians in 2021.”
Justice Dipeolu further ordered the minister to “provide SERAP with details of how the beneficiaries were selected and the mechanisms for the payments.” Additionally, he demanded an explanation of the rationale behind paying N5,000 to each of the 24.3 million poor Nigerians, which amounts to five percent of Nigeria’s 2021 budget of N13.6 trillion.
The judgment noted that the minister failed to provide any reason for not disclosing the details sought by SERAP. Justice Dipeolu upheld SERAP’s arguments and dismissed the objections raised by the minister’s counsel, leading the court to rule in favor of SERAP.
Justice Dipeolu emphasized, “Where a statute clearly provides for a particular act to be done or performed in a particular way, failure to perform the act as provided will be interpreted as not complying with the statutory provision.”
The court addressed the minister’s preliminary objection, which challenged the court’s jurisdiction based on the timing of SERAP’s suit. The minister’s counsel argued that the suit was filed outside the 30-day period stipulated by the Freedom of Information Act. However, the court found that SERAP had initiated the suit within the required timeframe.
The court’s ruling stated, “SERAP complied with section 20 of the Freedom of Information Act in filing this suit. Therefore, this suit is not statute-barred, and I dismiss the minister’s preliminary objection.”
Kolawole Oluwadare, SERAP’s deputy director, hailed the judgment as a significant victory for transparency and accountability in public spending. Femi Falana, SAN, commended SERAP for its efforts and urged the Tinubu government to use the judgment as a foundation for addressing corruption in the Ministry of Humanitarian Affairs and other government agencies.
In a letter dated July 6, 2024, addressed to President Bola Tinubu, SERAP called for the immediate enforcement of the court’s judgment. The organization urged the President to direct the Ministry of Humanitarian Affairs and the office of the Attorney General of the Federation to compile and release the spending details of the N729 billion as ordered by the court.
“The immediate enforcement and implementation of the judgment by your government will be a victory for the rule of law, transparency, and accountability in the governance processes and management of public resources,” SERAP’s letter concluded.
Below is the front page of the court order
PIONEER NEWS 