Justice Ibrahim Buba had given the order in a Freedom of Information suit number FHC/L/CS/196/2015 filed by Socio-Economic Rights and Accountability Project (SERAP).
SERAP’s filed the suit following revelations by the former Governor of Central Bank of Nigeria (CBN), Charles Soludo, that at least N30 trillion “has either been 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.” SERAP had approached the court to order the former Minister and the Federal government to provide it with information on the said N30 trillion.
Delivering judgement in the suit last week, Justice Buba said,
“Mrs Okonjo-Iweala and the Federal Government have no legally justifiable reason for refusing to provide SERAP with the information requested for. The Court has gone through the application and agrees that SERAP’s application has merits and the argument is not opposed. SERAP’s application is granted as prayed.”The judgment by Buba reads in part:
“Preliminary objection by Mrs Okonjo-Iweala and the federal government is misconceived, the court upholds the arguments by SERAP for the reasons stated herein.
“SERAP commenced this proceeding by way of Originating Summons dated 23 February 2015 and filed 25 February 2015. Mrs Okonjo-Iweala and the Federal Government filed a Memorandum of Conditional Appearance, a Notice of Preliminary Objection and written address, all undated but filed on 29 September 2015.
“The preliminary objection is on the following grounds: that SERAP did not obtain the mandatory leave of the Federal High Court to issue and serve the Originating Summons and other processes outside Lagos State; that there is no mandatory endorsement on the Originating Summons that it is to be served on Mrs Okonjo-Iweala and the Federal Government in Abuja and outside jurisdiction of this Court.
“The only issue for determination is whether Mrs Okonjo-Iweala and the federal government should be heard on their preliminary objection considering the totality of the circumstances of this case.
“He who wants equity must do equity. This suit was filed on 25 February 2015 and from the record of the court was served on Mrs Okonjo-Iweala and the Federal Government on 3 July, 2015. It took about 3 months for them to come up with technical response to the simple request for information under the Freedom of Information Act 2011.
“Mrs Okonjo-Iweala and the Federal Government have therefore been caught by Order 29 of the Rules of this Court, which requires that an application shall be made within 21 days after service on the Defendants of the originating summons.
“If Mrs Okonjo-Iweala and the federal government want to raise issues about service, the law does not permit of demurer. The proper route for them should have been to join issues with the originating summons and also file their objections. In the present case by SERAP, the Notice of Preliminary Objection by Mrs Okonjo-Iweala and the federal government is incurably defective for not conforming to order 29 of the Rules of this Court.”
It's now trillion not billion..smh
ReplyDeleteI'm just satisfied that our politicians won't be masticating the country money now with the mindset that nobody will raid them, every politician is now extra careful with their felonious moves because of our able intolerant president Buhari.I just can't wait for PMB to publicly release the names of those who looted the country treasury . I know for sure thieves from Jonathan division / administration will garbage the list + Jonathan himself ought to stand trial for the on going $2.1 billion arms deal slander!
Na me talk am!
~glo rule your world~ cos I do.
You have sparking like a wise speaking spoken man kudus
DeleteBuhari mismanaged funds under PTF what about tinubu Amaechi and all. APC and propaganda
DeleteIs your budget or income upto that amount how could they have mismanaged that
DeleteIt's now trillion not billion..smh
ReplyDeleteI'm just satisfied that our politicians won't be masticating the country money now with the mindset that nobody will raid them, every politician is now extra careful with their felonious moves because of our able intolerant president Buhari.I just can't wait for PMB to publicly release the names of those who looted the country treasury . I know for sure thieves from Jonathan division / administration will garbage the list + Jonathan himself ought to stand trial for the on going $2.1 billion arms deal slander!
Na me talk am!
~glo rule your world~ cos I do.
Fool keep chasing shadows while buhari remains clueless
DeleteSee gobe
ReplyDeleteThis kind big money miss.
ReplyDelete.
.
Stop wasting money on Data. Join the free browsing blog @ Entclass.com
Buhari go and die... This is a fruitless effort. Your APC members shld return what they have stolen
ReplyDeleteThe effort isn't fruitless, we must understand that this man is fighting for our future not his but the same youth tear him down at every turn. We need to be WISE
DeleteOghene,we have moved from billion to trillion???? Haaaa,totally hopeless country
ReplyDeleteI reserve my comment...Next Pls???
ReplyDeleteThey shld stop trying 2 drag this woman name tru d mud. She headed world Bank for heavens sake. Hw mch do we ve compared to d world Bank?? All dese politicians. Dey shld park well abeg.
ReplyDeleteYou most be stupid as your name and you most be a waste from your family did you think working in the world bank makes her rich?God punish you and your hole poor family goat like you......,
DeleteHmmm
ReplyDeleteStory.
ReplyDeleteTo account which missing money,sanusi have his own case to answer o.
Terrorist buhari northern people have being advising him to arrest ngozi and Jonathan hmmm Mr man watch ur back oooo.
Buhari is trying all he can to divert peoples attention and fools are there praising him why his there laughing at una back.
Buhari for the peace of Nigeria don't go near Jonathan oooooooo.
#sad indeed
Your mother and father are both useless and helpless and sex loose that is why you are breathing because your mum should have taken postinor to flush you out
DeleteHmmmm ok
ReplyDeleteMoney wey dey don share finish....wat a currupt nation....N30t dey miss nd for years nw nobody talk abt it....even d president in power den....wish I could be president someday nd transform dis nation under my watch.......aunty Linda note it down
ReplyDeleteRubbish!!
ReplyDeleteOk. Let's see how that unfold.
ReplyDeleteThis money is huge...
ReplyDeleteFinally the arm of the law has been extended to the ultimate people. Can't wait to see how it all unfolds
ReplyDeleteJesu! what is this?? hehhh when we are still recovering from dasuki na Im this Igbo fool cum with 30trn not billion omg! this is serious ooo! omo Igbo I hail o
ReplyDeletePass!!!
ReplyDeleteGhen ghen! Is A suspension fim #injenifasvoice
ReplyDeletehehhehehe Osetigo
ReplyDelete-D great anonymous now as Vivian Reginalds
I think Serap is being stupid, the judges are ordinarily ignorami altogether so the judgement comes as no surprise.
ReplyDeleteIf the former CFO of a hypothetical bank was accused of defalcation, it is the current CFO that is best placed to uncover the fraud and report same to the appropriate authorities.
This judgement is just a smear campaign and lacks merit.
Twas her ministry so she should be held accountable 👍
ReplyDeleteThese thieves finished nigeria! Chai
ReplyDeleteYou can believe anything, please accept my sympathy! Kolaq
DeleteOshiomhole will love this one.
ReplyDeleteJonathan is a criminal thief, may GOD punish and destroy all d people dat put nigerian in dis bad conditions and their supports. Any body who support corruption will never no peace. Today prayer point
ReplyDeleteAmen! Anti-corruption scheme without Okonjo-Iweala (mama barawo) being probed won't be balanced, 'cos no money looted that won't pass trough Ministry of Finance.
DeleteAnd yet dummies wt hatred and sentiment don't want buhari to mention corruption when it is indeed our nbr1 problem.
ReplyDelete'cos d dummies are sentimentally mad. And they are also enemies of progress
DeleteGood one
ReplyDeleteTell me more. I like this.
ReplyDeleteChai! Dese people has finished dis country. Linda take note!
ReplyDeleteGhen ghen. Oya missing money, where are you o???
ReplyDelete30trillion naira???? Unbelievable!
ReplyDeleteNa me talk am!
Long Live Lib!!!
no need for all these drama, the court should simply go through their handing over notes and if they can't find any missing moneys or irregularities then who ever is claiming that 30 trillion is missing should provide concrete evidence to support his claims or simply shut the f up and go hug transformer
ReplyDeleteHmmmmmmmm nke onye metere!
ReplyDeleteAbeg make Una go Sidon useless APC ppl,we dey talk I recreasement of fuel,dem dey talk matter wey no get head no get tale
ReplyDeleteGood! Hope she & that her silly media aide won't come & be issuing long press statements.Tell us what you did with 30 TRILLION NAIRA! Simple!
ReplyDelete@Fresh you are very daft! The judgement is absolutely stupid. It is unenforceable anywhere and just designed for media. She is not the Federal Government and isn't the current Minister of Finance. When this suit was brought, she wasn't the Minister so the suit is actually wrong. It is supposed to be addressed to the current Minister who will present the handover notes from the previous minister. Only a fool will pay attention to this nonsense
DeleteYou are so daft...please grow a brain...apart from your APC brain
DeleteMy friend, you can get excited easily. Also, you can believe anything, please accept my sympathy!
DeleteOk.Three,nameless, faceless people or is it one & the same person? I have one response for you.Get educated! Christiane Largarde, in case you don't know her,as I suspect, is the President of the world Bank.She is currently being prosecuted for mismanaging Frances' finances while she was minister of finance under Sarkozy. Like I said earlier-get educated. By the way,how will your mum recognise you now,with this shit I just poured on you?
DeleteWe r getting dere
ReplyDelete...merited happiness
But can they provide the answer now when they are out of goverment.
ReplyDeleteLobatan! Over to you Okonjo!
ReplyDeletePMB and His APC Cohen want trouble in this country. well we are all watching to see what will happen.
ReplyDeletePKE
Si which Federal Government is the Suit going to hold now? Goodluck Jonathan ir Buhari administration? SERAP has to start afresh and include the present and former CBN Governors, either as respondents ot witnesses to the missing amount. Such a serious matter should gave some more professional specifics rather than generalities. Otherwise this very serious matter of accountability becomes trivia.
ReplyDeleteNonsense abeg they should live them alone the money they have recovered so far what have they done with it? It is still the same story we are hearing, Nigeria is broke, things are getting hard by the day...if they recover this so call N30 trillion is still for there own pocket.
ReplyDeletemrs goody two shoes nigerians need an answer.
ReplyDeleteI trust what she will do, lecture their blucks heads
ReplyDeletethere is God oooh.
ReplyDeletehttp://www.makeoverarena.com/waptrick-games-videos-mp3-download-www-waptrick-com/
Only 30mil, we ve have taken much of all dis stage distraction, Buhari my advice to u is come may29 ur achievement condown, don't clame.chibok girls sagah.cause there are those following this stage play we facts and intreast.God pass u guys
ReplyDeleteWey the people wey gif am awards lastyear? Shame on you all.
ReplyDeleteNa now movie start all dis while na advert we dy watch i don position tight. I dy talk am steady say d stage is set...
ReplyDeleteNgozi Okonjo - Iweala, Supervising/Coordinating Minister. So much happened under her watch and we never heard her query any procedure, raise an objection, or even resign. Or did she? Surely she did not carry on like any other nominal minister?
ReplyDeleteNow that all the sleaze are oozing out, I am sure she will
welcome any opportunity like this to explain, even if a little, and clear her name?
Madam, you are a role model to many. we still respect you. Say something.
EG. Did Deziani/Dasuki do all those things behind your back?
So what did you do to clear yourself in some cases?
Or was it all smiles and rosy every FEC on Wednesday afternoon?
Were u in a coma during the last administration...or all u could remember was buhari fighting for presidency
DeleteGbam!! Now in trillion? Oya Movie don finally start. Let's go!!#Lindangwanu#
ReplyDeleteAllegations without proof. Completely baseless and a irritating. I think the legislature and the judiciary need to do something serious about false allegations! Witch hunts!
ReplyDeleteThe preliminary objection is senseless. There is just one FEDERAL HIGH COURT IN NIGERIA, WE HAVE FHC IN ALL STATE JUST FOR ADMINISTRATIVE CONVENIENCE, THUS THERE IS NO NEED FOR SERAP TO ASK FOR LEAVE OF COURT BEFORE SERVING THE ORIGINATING PROCESS OUTSIDE THE JURISDICTION OF THE FEDERAL HIGH COURT LAGOS DIVISION.
ReplyDeleteEverything about this story is tacky. From SERAP announcing the order of a court of competent jurisdiction, to asking Dr Iweala to give account of documents she no longer has in her possession to the outrageous figure of 30 trillion. How low can this people go to drag Dr Iweala in the mud. But they've failed
ReplyDeleteThese thieves put us in this condition we are in,alot of senseless ignorant readers in this blog ppl need to research alot ignorance is a disease
ReplyDeleteI can shout times 3 budget money Linda take note
ReplyDeleteI can shout times 3 budget money Linda take note
ReplyDeleteFantastically corrupt! *in David Cameron's voice*
ReplyDeleteA close observation shows that SERAP is little more than a terribly confused set people. The organisation is notorious for mischievous acts and Nigerians cannot afford to take them seriously.
ReplyDeleteDr. Ngozi Okonjo-Iweala is unperturbed by SERAP’s court order, because thementire procedure is onr big lie! If they can only comprehend how resourceful this woman is, this yeye group will not go this far. For all I know, this is all a part of another failed plan to ignite trouble.
ReplyDeleteUhm... But how can N30,000,000,000,000 even go missing sef? Lol
ReplyDeleteComment: Which money are we talking of here? Who is SERAP by the way? These days, many groups are emerging, seeking for attention with ulterior motives. I won't be surprised if someone out there in SERAP has ulterior motives and political ambitions. This is all propaganda and a waste of Nigerians' precious time
ReplyDeleteif Nigeria lost this claim sum of money, then the economy would have crashed more than this. How can this sum of money be missing, for me is not possible, is not 30,000 Naira we are talking about. pls
ReplyDeleteThis court order doesn't make any sense, rather than telling Okonjo Iweala to account for it they should tell SERAP to go and find it. The entire document is available if SERAP are interested in it. It is obvious that all the spending in the previous administrations are documented, if SERAP have any question, they should then ask, not that they would be disturbing the former finance who has moved on from her duties to be providing documentation of something. All the ones that have been provided did SERAP go through it? SERAP should please stop seeking unnecessary attention and let us have peace.
ReplyDeleteDr Okonjo-Iweala was never served with any court processes in relation to the said matter. She has not read the judgment and would the politically-motivated Judgement should be placed in the dustbin where it truly belongs.
ReplyDeleteI have a few questions for SERAP; 1. Where has SERAP gotten the N30 Trillion allegation from? 2. How did the money get missing under the watch of Okonjo that other serving Officials did not know, were they dead or what? 3. Is it possible for just a single person to steal the sum of money that is 6 TIMES the annual budget of NIGERIA??? 4. From which Account was it stolen? SERAP MUST BE HALF-BRAINED comedians. This is nothing but harassment on Okonjo Iweala.
ReplyDeleteHow can a case that was instituted in February 2015 but was not served until July 2015 after Dr Okonjo-Iweala had already ceased to be the Minister of Finance be given any serious attention from any sane Judge?
ReplyDeleteI have a few questions for SERAP; 1. Where has SERAP gotten the N30 Trillion allegation from? 2. How did the money get missing under the watch of Okonjo that other serving Officials did not know, were they dead or what? 3. Is it possible for just a single person to steal the sum of money that is 6 TIMES the annual budget of NIGERIA??? 4. From which Account was it stolen? SERAP MUST BE HALF-BRAINED comedians. This is nothing but harassment on Okonjo Iweala.
ReplyDeleteSERAP has no credibility of being believed because it is a notorious fact that, these bunch of routless barbarians are only picking on individuals to use in settling personal scores. And that is WRONG! It is unacceptable! It defeats the purpose of its existence, well, except that their combination of name is just is just a cover-up to perpetuate EVIL, which they are of course perpetuating! SERAP should be scrapped! IWEALA did nothing to warrant the injustuce she is being subjected to by SERAP's gladiatorship . She didn't mismanage any money! God bless Okonjo. God bless Nigeria.
ReplyDelete