The Socio-Economic Rights and Accountability Project (SERAP) has threatened to initiate contempt proceedings against the Attorney General of the Federation (AGF) and Minister of Justice, Lateef Fagbemi, SAN, over the alleged failure to comply with a court order directing the publication of names linked to the N6 trillion Niger Delta Development Commission (NDDC) corruption scandal.

In a letter dated December 13, 2025, SERAP issued a seven-day ultimatum, demanding immediate enforcement of a Federal High Court judgment that also compels the Federal Government to make public the full NDDC forensic audit report. The group warned that failure to act within the deadline would lead to contempt charges against the AGF.

The matter arose from a Freedom of Information (FoI) suit (FHC/ABJ/CS/1360/2021) filed by SERAP. In a judgment delivered on Monday, November 10, Justice Gladys Olotu of the Federal High Court, Abuja, affirmed the public’s right to access information on corruption within the NDDC.

The court ordered the AGF and the President to “widely publish the names of those indicted in the alleged misappropriation of N6 trillion meant to execute 13,777 abandoned projects” undertaken by the NDDC between 2000 and 2019. It also directed the government to publish the forensic audit report submitted on September 2, 2021.

Justice Olotu ruled that both the audit report and the list of indicted individuals qualify as public records under Section 31 of the Freedom of Information Act and are not exempt from disclosure, as they relate directly to the management of public funds. She further held that the refusal to publish the documents violated statutory obligations under the FoI Act and Section 15(5) of the 1999 Constitution.

In the letter signed by SERAP’s Deputy Director, Kolawole Oluwadare, the organisation accused the AGF of undermining the rule of law through continued non-compliance.

“The continuing failure and/or refusal to publicly acknowledge the judgment and immediately enforce it makes a mockery of the country’s legal and judicial processes and the rule of law,” SERAP said.

The group cited Section 287(1) of the Constitution, which mandates that court judgments must be obeyed by all authorities across the federation, insisting that the decision is final, binding, and immediately enforceable.

SERAP also referenced the Supreme Court’s ruling in Governor of Lagos State v. Ojukwu (1986), which held that “the government should be the first to obey the law.”

According to the organisation, enforcing the judgment would be consistent with President Bola Tinubu’s stated commitment to transparency and the development of the Niger Delta region.