INTERVIEW: Why We Have Over 30 Court Cases Against Government – SERAP

The Socio-Economic Rights and Accountability Project (SERAP) has said that its lawyers will not be in court to seek redress if the Nigerian government were complying with the Freedom of Information Act – an act that gives a person, group, association or organization the right to access information from Government Agencies, Parastatals, Federal Civil Service, Private and Public sector organizations providing public services.

SERAP’s deputy director, Kolawole Oluwadare, told THE WHISTLER in an exclusive interview on Monday that lack of transparency and accountability on the part of the federal, state governments and its agencies was why it filed suits in court.

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Oluwadare said that the federal government was yet to disclose to Nigerians the monies recovered from looters since 1999.

He added that even when judgement was passed in its favor, the federal government did not comply, adding that that is why it also engages in advocacy.

Oluwadare revealed that SERAP has over 30 pending cases against government but observed that the slow pace in court processes is a contributing factor.

He also accused the government officials of lacking the political will to abide by what the constitution says.

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Below are excepts of the interview:

How Many Cases Have SERAP Filed Against Federal Government And Which Of Them Are Still Ongoing?

There are quite a lot. When you say the federal government, it is too loose of terms, there are specific cases that address specific issues. There are specific issues of law that goes to specific courts. For instance, only the state can be parties of ECOWAS Court, so that will possibly speak to the case against Nigeria. But there are other matters that we have at the State High Courts and Federal High Courts against agencies of federal and state governments, in that sense, it is not Nigeria as a whole.

We have cases against the Ministry of Health, Nigerian Broadcasting Corporation, Ministry of Finance, on various issues and aspect…presently we have almost 30 suits pending before the courts on matters of transparency and accountability, and it is interesting that majority of them are Freedom of Information suits which is basically SERAP asking government for information; which is a right that is granted by the Constitution and the Freedom of Information Act.

SERAP is in court because government refused to give information to SERAP which is what the law says public institutions must do.

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What Are Those Issues?

Like I said, Freedom of Information lawsuits. For instance, disclosure of how much loot has been recovered over the years. We wrote to the president and the Attorney-General (Abubakar Malami SAN) and we did not get a response and we went to court. Consequently, after we filed to go to court, we got a response from the AGF telling us that they do not have record of how much have come in by way of recovered loots since 1999.

We asked the Minister of Finance how much loans Nigeria has acquired from 1999 till date and what they have been used for; we did not get a response…they denied us access to the information and we are in court.

Covid-19 for instance, we have written several letters to the Minister of Humanitarian Affairs and even President Muhammadu Buhari, asking specific details for the expenditures…from palliatives…we did not get a response…NCDC too; we did not get a response. these issues are basic issues of enforcing our right to information, they are legal issues, and the law empowers us to go to court. We would not be in court if government provides information.

Which Of The Suits Have SERAP Won Against The Federal Government?

For instance, we got a judgement in 2019 by the Federal High Court, Lagos, mandating the Attorney General of the Federation to take steps to challenge the legality of state pension laws. State pensions are the pensions allocated to governors and deputy governors…

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We have a judgement from the Federal High Court mandating the government to give details of how much has been spent on electricity; same thing with Ministry of Water Resources too but that judgement was yet to be effected; by and large, majority of the cases are still pending in court because of the slow pace of the process in court; as you can see, the judiciary is on strike.

Did The Federal Government Comply With Those Judgements Passed In Favor Of SERAP?

No they didn’t. So we continue with advocacy too. We’ve written to the AGF, we’ve written to the President to intimate them of the judgement; their lawyers were in court. We will continue with advocacy in that regard.

Are Your Suits A Way Of Bullying Government?

The essence of the suits is to ensure transparency and accountability in the fight against corruption and these are constitutional issues. Government is voted and elected by the people and they ought to have the interest of the people…by providing information to them; that’s freedom of expression guaranteed by the constitution. So it is not to harass anyone, it is not meant to intimidate ; they are issues of law and the court will have to make pronouncements.

How Do You Run Your Operations, Engage Lawyers Across The Country?

We have funding to do this work as part of the anti-corruption and human rights programs that we run. Like MacArthur Foundation…

What Are The Policies Of Government You Feel Requires Review?

It’s not a matter of policy, it is a matter of political will to enforce laws. Nigeria has enough laws; yes, the laws are not perfect, but do we have the will? That is the issue. Once we have the political will to begin to enforce our laws, that naturally will bring the matter of amending it. But can we begin to enforce the laws that we have presently?

Do You Think SERAP Is Succeeding In Its Accountability Objectives?

Yes from our own standpoint. As part of the fight against corruption, our own case is addressing corruption through transparency and accountability in governance and that is why you see the open letters.. the advocacy…

That ultimately culminates in the litigation that we do to ensure that government is transparent and is accountable to the people. And to the extent that this issue are a public discourse and they are in court anyway… it might not be the kind of progress you may envisage but progress nonetheless towards the overall objective.

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