The Socio-Economic Rights and Accountability Project (SERAP) has filed a lawsuit against the Nigerian National Petroleum Company Limited (NNPCL) over its alleged failure to remit N500 billion in oil revenues to the Federation Account between October and December 2024.
The lawsuit, filed at the Federal High Court in Lagos and marked FHC/L/MSC/553/2025, seeks an order of mandamus compelling the NNPCL to explain the whereabouts of the missing funds, identify those responsible, and hand over suspects to relevant anti-corruption agencies. It also seeks a directive for the NNPCL to invite the Economic and Financial Crimes Commission (EFCC) and the Independent Corrupt Practices Commission (ICPC) to investigate and recover the money.
SERAP, in a statement on Sunday, said it was acting on the heels of World Bank findings, which revealed that although the NNPCL generated N1.1 trillion from crude oil sales and related income in 2024, it remitted only N600 billion to the Federation Account. This leaves a gaping shortfall of N500 billion, which the national oil company has yet to explain.
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The group also cited a recent Supreme Court judgment affirming that the Freedom of Information Act applies to all public records, including those held by the NNPCL, despite its transformation into a limited liability company in July 2022. According to SERAP, the ruling invalidates NNPCL’s persistent refusal to disclose key financial details under the guise of being a commercial entity.
“The NNPCL has a responsibility to comply with the Nigerian Constitution 1999 [as amended], the Freedom of Information Act, and the country’s international human rights and anticorruption obligations in the exercise of its statutory functions,” SERAP said.
The missing N500 billion forms part of a longstanding pattern of financial opacity and unremitted funds by the NNPCL, which has been repeatedly flagged by federal audit reports, civil society, and international financial institutions.
“The missing oil revenue reflects a failure of NNPCL accountability more generally and is directly linked to the institution’s continuing failure to uphold the principles of transparency and accountability,” SERAP said.
Nigeria’s Auditor-General has repeatedly flagged the NNPC for non-remittance of significant oil revenues. In its 2016 audit report, the Auditor-General’s office revealed that the NNPC failed to remit over N3.2 trillion to the Federation Account between 2010 and 2015. Another 2019 report by the Nigeria Extractive Industries Transparency Initiative (NEITI) indicated that NNPC withheld N2.6 trillion in revenues that were due to the government.
- In 2021, NEITI again reported that NNPC did not remit $4.07 billion and N620 billion in revenues from oil and gas sales in just one year. The agency raised concern over what it described as “deductions at source,” a controversial accounting practice used by NNPC to withhold revenues from the Federation Account before statutory remittances. NEITI demanded a forensic audit of NNPC’s revenue handling practices.
SERAP, in its May 17, 2025, Freedom of Information (FOI) request signed by Deputy Director Kolawole Oluwadare, demanded that NNPCL CEO Bayo Bashir Ojulari disclose how the funds were spent and identify those involved. It stressed that oil revenue is a public asset meant for national development and not for discretionary management by a single institution.
“The missing oil revenues have further damaged the already precarious economy in the country and contributed to high levels of deficit spending by the government and the country’s crippling debt crisis,” it said.
The World Bank and International Monetary Fund (IMF) have also expressed concern over the lack of transparency in how NNPC manages oil revenues. While welcoming the removal of fuel subsidies in 2023, they have cautioned that savings from the subsidy must be accounted for transparently. The IMF noted that unremitted oil proceeds continue to fuel Nigeria’s fiscal crisis, which has been worsened by growing debt obligations now estimated at over N101 trillion.
In 2023 alone, the Nigerian government paid N7.3 trillion in debt servicing, a record figure that dwarfs combined spending on education and health. Economists say failure to recover missing oil revenues is forcing the government to rely heavily on borrowing, worsening inflation and weakening the naira.
Despite its transition into a private company under the Petroleum Industry Act, the NNPCL still holds exclusive control over crude sales and upstream contracts, with little public oversight. The company’s opaque operations have persisted even after its corporate rebranding, raising doubts about the government’s sincerity in pursuing transparency in the oil and gas sector.
With no hearing date fixed yet, the court will now determine whether NNPCL can be compelled to account for the missing N500 billion and whether its commercial status shields it from the constitutional duty of accountability.