Floods: SERAP Sues Buhari, Claiming Failure To Investigate Missing Environmental Funds
The administration of President Muhammadu Buhari has been accused of failing to look into the missing environmental monies at all levels.
In addition to making the claim, the Socio-Economic Rights and Accountability Project (SERAP) also sued the President.
The Attorney General of the Federation and Minister of Justice, Abubakar Malami (SAN), as well as Secretary to the Government of the Federation (SGF), Boss Mustapha, are named as Respondents in the lawsuit.
The decision to sue was made as a result of “the failure to investigate the spending of trillions of ecological funds by governments at all levels—federal, state, and local governments from 2001 to date, and to ensure the prosecution of suspected perpetrators of corruption and mismanagement of public funds,” according to a statement released on Sunday by Kolawole Oluwadare, the deputy director of SERAP.
He claims that the United Nations Children’s Fund (UNICEF) recently reported that the floods that devastated most states across the nation and destroyed billions of dollars’ worth of property caused no less than 600 deaths and left 1.3 million people homeless.
SERAP is requesting the court to “direct and compel President Buhari to promptly and thoroughly investigate the spending of Ecological Fund by governments at the Federal, State, and Local Government Levels from 2001 to the Present” in the lawsuit FHC/L/CS/2283/2022 that was filed last Friday at the Federal High Court, Lagos.
Additionally, the rights organization requests that the court “direct and compel President Buhari to ensure that suspected perpetrators of corruption and mismanagement of trillions of ecological funds are promptly brought to justice, and any missing public funds fully recovered.”
A fundamental violation of constitutional and international legal obligations occurs when the alleged missing trillions are not investigated, suspects are not brought to justice, and any missing public funds are not recovered, the statement partially read.
As long as high-ranking public officials go largely unpunished for their alleged crimes, corruption in the management of the Ecological Fund will continue to be tolerated.
“It is in the public interest to direct and compel President Buhari to investigate these claims so that evidence can be presented to the court and the truth about the use of ecological funds revealed, and justice can be served,” the statement reads.
The group also claimed that the Federal Government had broken its duties to uphold and defend the affected people’s human rights as well as to give them access to justice and practical remedies.
It was argued that the federal government has a legal duty to address the catastrophic effects of flooding on millions of people’s human rights as well as to prevent and address the potential effects of climate change on human rights.
The court hearing for the lawsuit has not yet been scheduled.
Credit: Channels Tv
