SERAP Drags NNPCL to Court Over Unexplained N211tn Financial Entries

The Socio-Economic Rights and Accountability Project (SERAP) has instituted a suit against the Nigerian National Petroleum Company Limited (NNPCL), seeking a court order compelling the oil company to account for N211 trillion recorded in its 2023 audited financial statements under “Sundry Receivables” and “Accrued Expenses.”

The suit, filed at the Federal High Court in Abuja, challenges what SERAP described as the company’s failure to adequately explain the transactions or provide supporting documents that would allow public scrutiny of the figures.

In the case marked FHC/ABJ/CS/1427/2026, the rights group is asking the court to issue an order of mandamus directing the NNPCL to disclose all records and information relating to the financial entries.

SERAP is specifically seeking a detailed explanation of the N107.6 trillion listed as “Sundry Receivables,” including the identities of those said to owe the money, the amounts involved, the legal basis for the debts and the steps taken to recover them.

It is also asking the court to compel the company to provide a comprehensive breakdown of the N103.4 trillion recorded as “Accrued Expenses,” including the identities of the creditors and beneficiaries, the nature of the liabilities and documents supporting the obligations.

In addition, the organisation wants the court to order the NNPCL to release all records relied upon in preparing and approving the financial entries contained in its 2023 audited accounts.

SERAP argued that the information being sought is of significant public interest, insisting that the NNPCL has a legal obligation to demonstrate that the transactions were properly documented and complied with the law.

According to the organisation, the Freedom of Information Act and the African Charter on Human and Peoples’ Rights guarantee citizens access to information held by public institutions, including the NNPCL.

It maintained that public disclosure would promote transparency, strengthen fiscal accountability and enable Nigerians to scrutinise how the country’s oil wealth is managed.

“The financial statements do not adequately explain who owes the money, who is to be paid, the legal basis for the transactions, or provide the supporting documents necessary for Nigerians to independently scrutinise and verify these enormous sums,” SERAP stated in the court filings.

The organisation further argued that the NNPCL remains subject to the Freedom of Information Act despite its corporate status under the Petroleum Industry Act because it is wholly owned by the Federal Government and manages petroleum resources on behalf of the federation.

SERAP also contended that the funds in question are public resources and that Nigerians have a legal right to know how they are being managed.

According to the group, the NNPCL failed to respond to its earlier Freedom of Information request within the period stipulated by law, a development it said amounted to a refusal and justified legal action.

The suit was filed on behalf of SERAP by its lawyers, Oluwakemi Agunbiade, Kehinde Oyewumi, Andrew Nwankwo and Maryam Mumuni.

No date has been fixed for the hearing of the case.