A Federal High Court sitting in Port Harcourt has dismissed a suit seeking the release of the report of the forensic audit on the Niger Delta Development Commission, NDDC.
The action was instituted by Paul Arochukwu Ogbonna and another applicant on behalf of Social Action against the Attorney General of the Federation.
The plaintiffs had approached the court in 2022 following the failure of the then Ministry of Niger Delta Affairs to make the report available, asking the court to compel its disclosure.
Subsequently, after President Bola Tinubu dissolved the ministry, the claimants amended their suit to reflect the change and included the Attorney General of the Federation as a defendant.
In his ruling on Tuesday, Justice Turaki Mohammed struck out the case on the grounds that it was originally filed against an agency that no longer exists.
Speaking to journalists outside the court room, counsel to the plaintiffs, Victor Nweke, expressed dissatisfaction with the judgment, noting that they are exploring further legal options.
He said, “We are not satisfied because we will come back. The matter was not dismissed, it was merely struck out.
“We still have the power. The court has the requisite jurisdiction to equally entertain the matter again.
“So, we are going to file the suit again and that information the government has refused to give to us must be given because the Freedom of Information Act 2011, made it explicitly clear that citizens of the Federal Republic of Nigeria are entitled to any document that is in the custody of any public office in Nigeria.”
One of the plaintiffs, Ogbonna, reiterated that the legal action forms part of a broader anti-corruption campaign.
He maintained that the public is entitled to access the audit report.
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