The Socio-Economic Rights and Accountability Project (SERAP) has asked President Bola Tinubu to instruct the Attorney General of the Federation and Minister of Justice, Mr. Lateef Fagbemi, as well as relevant anti-corruption agencies, to launch an investigation into the misappropriation of an alleged $3.4 billion borrowed from the International Monetary Fund (IMF).
SERAP made the request following a report made from the office of the Auditor-General of the Federation last week, which uncovered the spending of the IMF without proper documentation for the year 2020.
The Economic Rights group urges President Tinubu to ensure that those indicted in the misappropriation scandal should be prosecuted and face the full extent of the law if found guilty.
The group also demanded that any missing IMF loan should be recovered and returned to the public treasury.
SERAP argued that, if the money scheme allegations are not investigated, the culprit behind the scandal is not held accountable, and any missing IMF loan is not recovered, it would have a significant impact on how resources are allocated and could significantly worsen the country’s debt situation.
In a letter dated February 3, 2024, and signed by SERAP deputy director Kolawole Oluwadare, the organization expressed that justice and accountability need to prevail regarding these serious allegations. They emphasized that taking these necessary actions would put an end to the impunity of those responsible.