The Socio-Economic Rights and Accountability Project (SERAP) has asked the government of President Muhammadu Buhari to “immediately take meaningful steps to implement several judgments obtained by SERAP against the Federal Government.”
According to SERAP some of the judgements expected to be obeyed include verdicts to raise money to fund the budget, reduce the growing level of borrowing, and address the escalating rule of law crisis in the country. In a statement on Wednesday, the organisation said, “unless the judgments are immediately implemented, SERAP will consider pursuing contempt proceedings against the Federal Government in national courts, and international sanctions against the administration for its persistent disobedience of court judgments.”
According to the organization, “among the several judgments the Buhari administration has failed to obey is the judgment by the ECOWAS Court of Justice in Abuja, which awarded N30m as compensation for the ill-treatment of journalist Agba Jalingo, who faced trumped-up and politically motivated charges of treason.” The statement, read in part: “Another judgment the Buhari administration is failing to implement is the judgment by the ECOWAS Court which found the government responsible for abuses by oil companies and directed it to hold to account the companies and other perpetrators of oil pollution in the Niger Delta.”
“We urge President Buhari to without further delay publicly instruct the Attorney General of the Federation and Minister of Justice Mr Abubakar Malami (SAN) to ensure the effective implementation of all of the judgments obtained by SERAP and other outstanding judgments.”
