The High Court in Nigeria's commercial city Lagos has ordered former Humanitarian Affairs Minister Sadiya Umar-Farouq to account for 729 billion naira ($467 million) the government gave 24 million poor Nigerians in six months of 2021.
The court has also ordered the ex-minister to provide the list of people who received the stipend, the number of states where the beneficiaries come from, as well as the funds each state received. Nigeria has 36 states.
A Nigerian rights group, the Socio-Economic Rights and Accountability Project, filed the case, seeking accountability for the funds disbursed during President Muhammadu Buhari's rule.
The court said the petitioner had sought details about the funds in July 2021, but the former minister "did not give any reason for the refusal to disclose the details."
'Victory for transparency'
The Socio-Economic Rights and Accountability Project commended Judge Deinde Isaac Dipeolu's ruling, saying it was "a victory for transparency and accountability in the spending of public funds."
The petitioner has since written to the Office of Nigeria's President Bola Tinubu and the attorney-general to comply with the court's ruling.
"We urge you to direct the ministry of humanitarian affairs to immediately compile and release the spending details of the 729 billion naira ($467 million) as ordered by the court," the rights body's deputy director, Kolawole Oluwadare, said on Saturday.
The suit was filed after Umar-Farouq's ministry in January 2021 paid 24.3 million poor Nigerians 5,000 naira ($3.2) each for a period of six months to help in post-Covid-19 economic recovery.
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