A suit filed by the 36 governments and the Nigeria Governors’ Forum against the federal government to challenge the management and determine which account of the federation’s recovered looted funds should be remitted has been dismissed by the Supreme Court today. The Supreme Court, in a decision delivered by Justice Chidiebere Uwa and read by
A suit filed by the 36 governments and the Nigeria Governors’ Forum against the federal government to challenge the management and determine which account of the federation’s recovered looted funds should be remitted has been dismissed by the Supreme Court today.
The Supreme Court, in a decision delivered by Justice Chidiebere Uwa and read by Justice Mohammed Idris on behalf of the apex court’s seven-member panel, unanimously ruled that the court lacks jurisdiction to hear and decide the case.
In this case, which has been with the Supreme Court since 2021, the states and their governors said that even though they recovered stolen money totalling ₦1,836,906,543,658.73, along with 167 properties, 450 cars, 300 trucks and cargo, and 20 million barrels of crude oil worth over ₦450 billion, the federal government did not put this money into the Federation Account as the constitution requires.
The state governments and governor of the federations further indicted the federal government of failing to do the constitutional bidding; instead The plaintiffs asserted that the federal government diverted funds to the Consolidated Revenue Fund (CRF) and other accounts not recognised by the Constitution.
The states argued that the Consolidated Revenue Fund is meant for the sharing of federal earnings, administrative fees, sales and rent of government property, interest from federal investments, repayments from state governments, and personal income tax of members of the armed forces, not for the funds or properties recovered.
They, however, accused the federal government of bending the constitutional stance on accountability and transparency.
The states and their governors maintained that the CRF is “meant for the federal government’s share of the Federation Account and other federal earnings, including receipts from licenses and land revenue, administrative fees, sales and rent of government property, interest from federal investments, repayments from state governments, and the personal income tax of members of the armed forces.”
They argued that the federal government’s creation of the asset recovery account and interim forfeiture recovery account, into which proceeds from recovered assets were paid, violated constitutional provisions.
“Since 2015, many illegally obtained assets have been recovered by anti-corruption and law enforcement agencies, including the Economic and Financial Crimes Commission (EFCC), Independent Corrupt Practices and Other Related Offences Commission (ICPC), Nigerian Police Force, and the office of the Attorney General of the Federation.”
“It is unconstitutional to remit or divert revenue payable into the Federation Account to the Consolidated Revenue Account of the Federal Government or any other account whatsoever, or to apply the said revenue to any other purpose,” the plaintiffs said.
The plaintiffs referred to section 2 of the Finance (Control and Management) Act, 1958, and sections 162(1), 162(10), and 80 of the constitution to back up their argument that all recovered funds are income that should be put into the federation account.
In their prayers, they urged the court to declare that all proceeds from recovered assets, cash and non-cash, must be paid into the federation account for the benefit of all tiers of government, seeking an order to compel the federal government to remit N1.8 trillion (cash) and N450 billion (non-cash ) recovered since 2015 into the federation account.
However, the apex court dismissed the case due to a lack of jurisdiction to hear it.
