LAGOS, Nigeria – The Federal High Court in Lagos has ordered the disclosure of over N200 billion in public funds allocated for education during the tenure of immediate past Delta State Governor Ifeanyi Okowa.
The ruling, delivered by Honourable Justice Daniel Osiagor, followed a Freedom of Information suit brought by the Socio-Economic Rights and Accountability Project, SERAP.
The case centers on budgetary allocations and actual spending by the Okowa government between 2015 and 2019, including specific projects to improve primary education in Delta State.
Justice Osiagor stated emphatically in his judgment, “SERAP has cognisable legal right to inquire and know the way and manner public institutions manage public funds. I must say, that every citizen has a duty to demand transparency and accountability in governance of public institutions.”
The ruling also called into question why the request for spending details had led to four years of litigation. Justice Osiagor added, “Public officials are fast developing a state of anomie and cold feet when confronted with a request for audit report of public duties and budgets.”
The court ordered Delta State Governor Sheriff Oborevwori to disclose how the Okowa government spent over N7.28 billion received from the Universal Basic Education Commission, UBEC, between 2015 and 2017, and N213 billion received from the Federation Accounts Allocation Committee, FAAC, in 2018.
SERAP’s suit was inspired in part by the case of seven-year-old Success Adegor, who was sent home due to inability to pay an illegal school fee.
Her plea, captured in a viral video, where she said, “No be say I no go pay, dem go flog, flog, flog, dem go tire,” ignited a nationwide conversation on education funding.
In addition to disclosing spending details, the court ordered the government to reveal plans for the welfare of primary school children in Delta State, including fee-free programs, and measures to support children with disabilities.
Justice Osiagor’s judgment, dated 17 July 2023, expressed concern about the increasing reluctance of public institutions to share information on accountability, stating that the Freedom of Information Act should be celebrated in a democratic dispensation.
SERAP’s deputy director, Kolawole Oluwadare, urged Governor Oborevwori to obey the court’s judgment, saying, “By immediately complying with the judgment, your government will be sending a powerful message to politicians and others that they will be held to account even when out of office.”
The judgment has been widely hailed as a precedent-setting decision that underscores the right of citizens to demand transparency from their government, particularly on matters related to public spending and governance.
The ruling has the potential to reverberate through Nigerian political circles, with implications for how public funds are managed, not only in Delta State but throughout the country.
It reaffirms the judiciary’s role in upholding citizens’ rights to transparency and accountability, and may inspire further legal actions to open up government operations to public scrutiny.
