Nigeria: SERAP Sues NNPCL Over 'Failure to Account for ₦211 Trillion'

What the report says

AllAfrica, republishing a Premium Times report based on a SERAP press release, reported that the Socio-Economic Rights and Accountability Project has taken the Nigerian National Petroleum Company Limited to court over unexplained entries totaling more than ₦211 trillion in NNPCL’s 2023 audited financial statements. The case, filed at the Federal High Court in Abuja as suit FHC/ABJ/CS/1427/2026, concerns figures listed as “Sundry Receivables” and “Accrued Expenses.”

SERAP is asking the court to compel NNPCL to provide records, explanations and supporting documents for the entries. According to the report, the disputed amount includes about ₦107.6 trillion recorded as sundry receivables and about ₦103.4 trillion recorded as accrued expenses. SERAP wants details including who allegedly owes NNPCL money, who may be owed payments, the basis for the liabilities or receivables, and the status of any recovery efforts.

The group argues that NNPCL, despite its corporate structure under Nigeria’s petroleum reforms, remains accountable under the Freedom of Information Act because it is wholly owned by the federal government and manages public petroleum resources. SERAP says its earlier FOI request was not answered within the legal timeline, which it treats as a refusal and the basis for seeking judicial intervention.

The matter is significant because NNPCL is central to Nigeria’s oil revenue system, and the sums cited are exceptionally large relative to public finances. The report says SERAP links disclosure to public oversight, anti-corruption safeguards and fiscal accountability. No hearing date had been fixed at the time of the report.