Supreme Court rejects 36 governors’ claim to ₦1.8 trn recovered funds
Ladi Patrick-Okwoli
The Supreme Court has dismissed a lawsuit brought by 36 state governments and the Nigeria Governors’ Forum (NGF), which contested the federal government’s handling of the N1.8 trillion in recovered looted funds.
In the majority opinion authored by Chidiebere Uwa and delivered by Mohammed Idris, the seven-judge panel of the Supreme Court unanimously ruled that it did not have the jurisdiction to preside over the case.
The court determined that the matter, registered as SC/CV/395/2021, properly falls under the authority of the Federal High Court rather than the Supreme Court.
In their 2021 lawsuit, the states asserted that from 2015 to 2021, the federal government recovered looted assets totaling approximately N1.84 trillion.
These recoveries included 167 properties, 450 vehicles, 300 trucks and cargo units, along with 20 million barrels of crude oil valued at more than N450 billion.
The states argued that the federal government did not deposit these recovered assets into the Federation Account as mandated by the Constitution.
Instead, they alleged the funds were redirected into the Consolidated Revenue Fund (CRF) and other accounts that are not constitutionally recognized.
The states explained that the Consolidated Revenue Fund (CRF) is intended to hold the federal government’s portion of the Federation Account, along with other federal income such as fees from licenses, land revenues, sales and rentals of government properties, interest from investments, repayments from states, and personal income taxes of military personnel.
They contended that the federal government’s establishment of separate accounts—namely the asset recovery account and the interim forfeiture recovery account—where recovered assets were deposited, contravened constitutional guidelines.
The plaintiffs highlighted that since 2015, several anti-corruption and law enforcement agencies, including the Economic and Financial Crimes Commission (EFCC), Independent Corrupt Practices Commission (ICPC), Nigerian Police Force, and the office of the Attorney-General, have been responsible for recovering illegally obtained assets.
Citing sections 162(1), 162(10), and 80 of the Constitution alongside section 2 of the Finance (Control and Management) Act of 1958, the states argued that all recovered funds should be considered revenue that must be paid into the Federation Account.
They emphasized that diverting these revenues to the CRF or any other account, or using them for purposes outside the Federation Account, violates the Constitution.
The plaintiffs requested a court ruling to affirm that all recovered proceeds, both monetary and non-monetary, must be deposited into the Federation Account to benefit all levels of government.
They further urged the court to compel the federal government to transfer the N1.8 trillion in cash and N450 billion worth of assets recovered since 2015 into the Federation Account.
Additionally, they requested a court order requiring the federal government to deposit the N1.8 trillion in cash and N450 billion in non-cash assets recovered since 2015 into the Federation Account.
They also urged the court to mandate the federal government and responsible officials to submit a comprehensive report detailing any assets that remain unrecovered or unremitted.
BusinessDay NG