Human rights lawyer, Femi Falana, has asked the National Assembly to compel the recovery of $123.17bn in alleged outstanding oil royalties, taxes and dividends, alongside N66.4bn, from the Nigerian National Petroleum Company Limited and other oil and gas companies.
In a letter dated 28 October, 2026, and titled ‘Request to Recover Dividends, Taxes and Royalties Worth $123.17bn and N66.4bn from NNPC and Other Companies and Remit Same to the Federation Account’, Falana urged the National Assembly to ensure that the alleged outstanding revenues were recovered and remitted to the federation account.
He warned that he would institute legal proceedings at the Federal High Court if the authorities failed to initiate measures to recover the funds within 14 days of receiving the letter.
In an acknowledged copy of the letter made available to The PUNCH on Thursday, the senior advocate said the outstanding revenues covered several categories, including $62bn in unpaid oil royalties, $23.1bn in alleged unremitted dividends from Nigeria LNG Limited, $6.071bn in outstanding industry revenues, and claims relating to stolen crude oil and refinery rehabilitation contracts.
The letter also cited a Supreme Court consent judgment delivered on 20 October, 2018, which it said directed the Federal Government to collect outstanding royalties accrued over 18 years under the Deep Offshore and Inland Basin Production Sharing Contracts Act.
According to Falana, the governments of Akwa Ibom, Bayelsa and Rivers states had approached the Supreme Court to compel the Federal Government to enforce the law, which provided for an upward review of royalties when international crude oil prices exceeded $20 per barrel.
He said a committee constituted by the Office of the Attorney-General of the Federation subsequently determined that $62bn in royalties had not been collected from international oil companies.
Falana added that Akwa Ibom and Rivers states later obtained a Federal High Court judgment for a combined $3.3bn, while Bayelsa State secured a separate judgment for $951m over their alleged entitlements from the outstanding royalties.
He said the Federal Government had yet to comply with the judgments.
The lawyer also called for the recovery of $29bn linked to alleged crude oil theft and undeclared exports, citing investigations by the Nigerian Maritime Administration and Safety Agency and the House of Representatives.
He said lawyers engaged by NIMASA discovered that about 60.2 million barrels of crude oil, valued at $12.7bn, allegedly stolen from Nigeria, were discharged at the Port of Philadelphia in the United States between 2011 and 2014.
According to the letter, the lawyers submitted their findings to the Office of the Attorney-General after which they filed nine civil cases at the Federal High Court in Abuja and Lagos to recover the value of the alleged stolen crude oil and liquefied gas.
Falana further cited a 2016 House of Representatives ad hoc committee investigation, which he said found that $17bn worth of crude oil and liquefied natural gas had been exported from Nigeria without proper records.
He said the committee found that the crude oil was discharged at the ports of Houston and Lake Charles in the United States.
He urged the National Assembly to direct the Economic and Financial Crimes Commission to pursue the recovery of the funds from the companies allegedly involved.
On the NLNG dividends, Falana alleged that NNPC had failed to remit $23.1bn due to the Federal Government from its 49 per cent shareholding in NLNG.
He explained that NLNG, established in 1989, had paid more than $47bn in dividends to its shareholders over 26 years, with the Federal Government’s share paid through NNPC.
The other shareholders listed in the letter are Shell, with 25.6 per cent; TotalEnergies, 15 per cent; and Eni International, 10.4 per cent.
Falana argued that the dividends received by NNPC on behalf of the Federal Government should have been transferred to the Federation Account in accordance with Section 162 of the 1999 Constitution, as amended.
He added that resolutions of the Senate and the House of Representatives calling for the remittance of the funds had allegedly been ignored.
The senior advocate also called for the recovery of $6.071bn and N66.4bn in outstanding revenues owed by oil and gas companies, citing the Nigerian Extractive Industries Transparency Initiative’s 2022/2023 Independent Oil and Gas Industry Report.
According to him, NEITI disclosed on 27 September, 2024, that the outstanding collectible revenues due to the Federal Government as of June 2024 stood at the stated amounts.
He said copies of the report were forwarded to both chambers of the National Assembly in November 2024 in line with the provisions of the NEITI Act.
Falana urged lawmakers to support NEITI in recovering the outstanding revenues without further delay.
The letter also questioned the outcome of the rehabilitation of the Port Harcourt, Warri and Kaduna refineries, for which the Federal Executive Council approved contracts totalling about $2.98bn in 2021.
It said the government approved $1.5bn for the rehabilitation of the Port Harcourt refineries in April 2021 and another $1.48bn for the Warri and Kaduna refineries in August of the same year.
Falana argued that NNPC announced in December 2024 that the Port Harcourt and Warri refineries had been substantially completed, while work on the Kaduna refinery was almost finished.
However, he cited NNPC’s subsequent announcement that the Warri refinery ceased operations on 25 January, 2025, following safety issues involving its crude distillation unit main heater. He also referred to the shutdown of the Port Harcourt refineries for planned maintenance in May 2025.
He argued that the contractors had breached the terms of the rehabilitation agreements and called for the recovery of the contract sums.
“In view of the foregoing, we are compelled to request the Office of the Attorney-General to recover the total sum of $123.17bn and N66.4bn owed the Government of the Federation by the Nigerian National Petroleum Corporation Limited, and some oil and gas companies operating in Nigeria,” the letter stated.
Falana said recovering the funds would reduce the Federal Government’s dependence on external borrowing and provide additional revenue for the federation and the states.
He warned that failure to begin recovery measures within 14 days would prompt legal action.
“If you fail to initiate legal measures for the recovery of the aforesaid huge funds belonging to the Government of the Federation within 14 days of the receipt of this letter, we shall not hesitate to file the necessary processes in the Federal High Court with a view to compelling you to discharge the duty of your office,” he wrote.
Falana also defended his firm’s standing to pursue the matter, citing its involvement in drafting and submitting a bill to amend the Deep Offshore and Inland Basin Production Sharing Contracts Act in 2017.
He noted that the bill was adopted and sponsored by a senator, subsequently passing first reading in the Senate before the dissolution of the Eighth National Assembly. According to him, the Ninth National Assembly subsequently adopted and passed the amendment.
He recalled that the then President of the Senate, Ahmad Lawan, had said the amendment would increase the country’s revenue by at least $1.5bn annually.
Credit: punchng.com
