Lagos, Nigeria – The Federal High Court in Lagos has mandated former Minister of Humanitarian Affairs, Disasters Management and Social Development, Sadiya Umar-Farouq, to provide a comprehensive account of N729 billion payments distributed to 24.3 million poor Nigerians over a six-month period.
The court has instructed Umar-Farouq to disclose a detailed list of the beneficiaries, including the number of states covered and the distribution of payments per state. This ruling follows a Freedom of Information (FoI) lawsuit (FHC/L/CS/853/2021) filed by the Socio-Economic Rights and Accountability Project (SERAP).
Justice Deinde Isaac Dipeolu delivered the judgment in June, which was certified last Friday. In his ruling, Justice Dipeolu emphasized the former minister’s obligation under the FoI Act to provide the requested information to any individual or organization, including SERAP.
“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,” stated Justice Dipeolu.
The judgment also requires Umar-Farouq to explain the criteria used for selecting beneficiaries and the mechanisms for payment distribution. Additionally, the former minister must justify the rationale behind disbursing N5,000 to 24.3 million Nigerians, which equates to five percent of Nigeria’s N13.6 trillion budget for 2021.
Justice Dipeolu noted that the minister failed to provide any reason for refusing to disclose the requested details, thus violating relevant sections of the FoI Act 2011. SERAP invoked sections 20 and 25(1) of the Act to seek a mandamus order compelling the minister to release the information.
In response to the ruling, SERAP’s Deputy Director, Kolawole Oluwadare, hailed the judgment as a significant step toward transparency and accountability in public fund expenditure.
“This ground-breaking judgment is a victory for transparency and accountability in the spending of public funds,” Oluwadare said. “Justice Dipeolu’s judgment shows the urgent need for the Tinubu government to genuinely address the systemic allegations of corruption in the Ministry of Humanitarian Affairs, Disasters Management and Social Development and other ministries, departments, and agencies, as documented by the Auditor-General of the Federation.”
Oluwadare commended Justice Dipeolu for her courage and wisdom and called on President Bola Tinubu to promptly comply with the court orders.