Socio-Economic Rights and Accountability Project (SERAP) has recently called on President Muhammadu Buhari to take swift action to ensure the probe of 149 million barrels of crude oil that are allegedly missing. The organisation is warning that if the President fails to do so, they will take legal action.

According to a statement issued on Sunday by its Deputy Director, Kolawole Oluwadare, SERAP has urged President Buhari to “set up a presidential panel of enquiry to promptly probe the grim allegations that over 149 million barrels of crude oil are missing, as documented in the 2019 audited reports by the Auditor General of the Federation and Nigeria Extractive Industries Transparency Initiative (NEITI)”.

Moreover, the organization has also urged the President to ensure that anyone suspected to be responsible for the plundering of the country’s oil wealth is prosecuted effectively and the full recovery of any proceeds of crime. SERAP has emphasized that there is a legitimate public interest in ensuring justice and accountability for these very serious allegations.

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The 2019 audited report by the Auditor General states that over 107 million barrels of crude oil were lifted as domestic crude without any document or tracing. Additionally, NEITI reported missing 42.25 million barrels of crude oil in 2019. SERAP’s letter to the President highlights the need for prompt action and calls for the establishment of a panel to investigate these allegations.

“As the President and substantive Minister of Petroleum Resources, you and your government should prioritize getting to the bottom of these allegations and use the remainder of your term of office to ensure justice and accountability for these serious crimes against the Nigerian people,” the letter reads.

SERAP has emphasized that investigating the allegations and prosecuting those suspected to be responsible for the missing crude oil would serve the public interest and end the impunity of perpetrators. The organization has called for the recommended measures to be taken within 7 days of the receipt and/or publication of this letter, or else, legal action will be taken to compel the government to comply with their request in the public interest.

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The allegations by both the Auditor-General and NEITI are different from a whistleblower’s claims that 48 million barrels of Bonny Light crude oil allegedly sold in China in 2015 are missing or unaccounted for.

These damning revelations suggest that the Nigerian Constitution 1999 [as amended], the country’s anti-corruption laws, and international obligations, as well as the public trust, have all been violated. SERAP is calling for immediate action to be taken to prevent and combat the plundering of Nigeria’s wealth and natural resources, to name and bring suspected perpetrators to account, and to recover any proceeds of crime.