PH
The missing money represents some accruable income to the Federal Government during the last four years of the administration of former President Goodluck Jonathan.
The judgment was delivered by Justice Ibrahim Buba following a Freedom of Information suit brought by Socio-Economic Rights and Accountability Project (SERAP).
SERAP’s suit according to Punch followed revelations by the former Governor of Central Bank of Nigeria (CBN), Charles Soludo, that at least N30 trillion was either stolen or unaccounted for, or grossly mismanaged over the last few years under the Coordinating Minister of the Economy and Minister of Finance, Dr Ngozi Okonjo-Iweala’s watch.
Justice Buba in his judgment held that Okonjo-Iweala had no legal justification to ignore the request to account for the allegedly missing N30tn.
The judge agreed with the arguments by SERAP that Okonjo-Iweala and the Federal Government should have either supplied the information requested by SERAP or communicate her denial within seven days of receipt of the letter from SERAP if she considers that the request should be denied.
SERAP had in February 2015 dragged Okonjo-Iweala to court over “failure to provide information about spending of the alleged missing N30tn.
