The Court of Justice of the Economic Community of West African States (ECOWAS) has declared “inadmissible” an application lodged by two NGOs against the Nigerian state for alleged misappropriation within a commission responsible for managing so-called ecological funds derived from oil exploitation in the Niger Delta region.
According to a press release from the West African court’s communications department, “The ECOWAS Court has struck out a case filed by two non-governmental organizations (NGOs) alleging violations of the rights of Nigerians in the Niger Delta resulting from corrupt practices in an agency set up by the Nigerian government in 2000 to manage and administer ecological funds obtained from oil exploration in the Niger Delta”.
The Court declared the case “inadmissible” despite admitting that it had jurisdiction to rule on the case based on allegations of human rights violations, considering that Nigeria, as a Member State, could not be qualified as a Community official based on the legal provisions invoked by the applicants in their application.
The two Nigerian-based NGOs Incorporated Trustees of Socio-Economic Rights and Accountability Project (SERAP) and the Social Development Integrated Centre (SOCIAL ACTION) had told the Court that the Nigerian Government had set up the Niger Delta Development Commission (NDDC) in 2000 to manage and administer the environmental funds obtained from oil exploration in the Niger Delta region.
They had claimed that following reports of entrenched corruption within the Commission responsible for managing this fund, the President, through the Federal Executive Council (FEC), had set up a team to audit more than 13,000 contracts worth nearly $13 million awarded between 2001 and 2019.