– Says $62bn price of royalties not collected from corporations for 18 years
– Alleges $23.1bn NLNG dividends withheld by state oil agency; threatens authorized go well with on non-compliance
Peter Uzoho
Human rights lawyer and Senior Advocate of Nigeria, Mr. Femi Falana, SAN, has requested the Senate President, Senator Godswill Akpabio to instantly transfer to get well a staggering $123.17 billion and N66.4 billion owed to the federation by the Nigerian National Petroleum Company Limited (NNPC), a number of worldwide oil corporations (IOCs) and indigenous producing corporations.
In a strongly worded letter dated October 28, 2026, addressed to the Senate President and copied to the Speaker of the House of (*14*), Hon. Tajudeen Abbas, Falana, by way of his legislation agency, Falana & Falana’s Chambers, mentioned the funds characterize excellent royalties, taxes, dividends, stolen crude proceeds and failed refinery rehabilitation contracts established by judgments of courts of competent jurisdiction and experiences of federal businesses.
The agency which described itself as devoted to the promotion of human rights, social justice and public accountability in Nigeria, mentioned it was compelled to write after the federal authorities failed to act on verified experiences of huge income losses.
“We wish to draw your attention to the relevant judgments of courts of competent jurisdiction and reports of some agencies of the federal government which have established that the government of the federation is owed the sum of $123.17 billion being outstanding royalties, taxes and dividends,” the letter acknowledged.
Falana gave the National Assembly 14 days to provoke restoration measures, warning that “If you fail to initiate legal measures for the recovery of the aforesaid huge funds belonging to the government of the federation within fourteen 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.”
The breakdown of the uncollected funds, in accordance to the letter, begins with what the senior lawyer described as “$62 billion worth of royalties not collected from IOCs for 18 years.”
Falana traced the invention to his agency’s marketing campaign for the modification of the Deep Offshore and Inland Basin Production Sharing Contracts Act.
He mentioned his agency found that some public officers had intentionally refused to implement part 16 of the Act which offered for an upward overview of royalties every time the worth of crude oil was offered past $20 per barrel within the worldwide market.
“Confronted with the fact of the economic sabotage, the federal government admitted that the country had lost billions of dollars due to the non-implementation of the law but our demand for the collection of the huge fund was ignored without any legal basis,” he mentioned.
It was at that stage, he defined, that the governments of Akwa Ibom, Bayelsa and Rivers States filed a go well with on the Supreme Court and sought to compel the federal authorities to accumulate all excellent royalties underneath the Act.
Falana recalled that in a consent judgment delivered on October 20, 2018, the Supreme Court had ordered the federal authorities to accumulate the excellent royalties which had accrued for 18 years underneath the Deep Offshore Inland Basin Production Sharing Contract Act and that the 13 per cent derivation due to the plaintiffs be paid to them upon restoration of the fund in accordance with Section 162 of the 1999 Constitution as amended.
He added that pursuant to the mentioned consent judgment, the workplace of the Attorney-General of the Federation constituted a committee to decide the respective liabilities of the IOCs together with the quantity due to the oil producing states as derivation proceeds.
Falana famous the committee discovered that the quantity not collected from the IOCs was $62 billion.
He mentioned although the demand of the federal authorities for cost of the mentioned sum was ignored by the IOCs, the governments of Akwa Ibom and Rivers States filed a case on the Federal High Court whereby they sought a declaration that they had been entitled to the sum of $1,114,551,610.00 and $2,258,411,586 respectively from the mentioned sum.
Upon listening to the matter, the Federal High Court presided over by Justice Taiwo Taiwo granted the reduction for the cost of $3.3 billion to each plaintiffs, as well as to a post-judgment curiosity of 10 per cent till ultimate liquidation.
Falana mentioned in a separate motion, the Bayelsa State Government sought a declaration that it was entitled to $951 million from the mentioned sum, and in a judgment delivered on June 22, 2021, Justice Inyang Ekwo entered judgment in its favour.
“From the information at our disposal, the federal government has not complied with the aforesaid judgments of the Federal High Court,” Falana famous.
He mentioned the second element was $29 billion being proceeds of stolen crude oil.
Falana mentioned a staff of Nigerian legal professionals engaged by the Nigerian Maritime Administration and Safety Agency (NIMASA) found that about 60.2 million barrels of crude oil stolen from Nigeria by the IOCs had been discharged in Philadelphia Port within the United States between 2011 and 2014, with a price of $12.7 billion.
He mentioned the report was submitted to the Office of the Attorney-General of the Federation however the authorities refused to prosecute the indicted corporations, prompting the NIMASA staff to file 9 civil instances within the Abuja and Lagos divisions of the Federal High Court.
He recalled that someday in 2016, the House of (*14*) arrange an Ad Hoc Committee headed by Hon. Johnson Agbonayinma to probe the undeclared crude oil and liquefied pure gasoline exports to international locations between 2011 and 2014.
He mentioned the committee confirmed that $17 billion in oil and liquefied pure gasoline was exported from Nigeria with out correct data and that the crude oil was discharged within the United States port of Houston and port of Lake Charles.
Falana urged the Senate to demand a replica of the report from the Clerk of the House and to direct the Economic and Financial Crimes Commission (EFCC) to get well the full sum.
“Notwithstanding the pending civil cases filed by NIMASA at the Federal High Court, you may wish to direct the EFCC to embark on the recovery of the total sum of $29 billion from the indicted oil and shipping companies because they engaged in oil theft and other acts of economic sabotage,” he acknowledged.
The third and arguably most contentious is “$23.1 billion NLNG Dividends withheld by the NNPCL.”
Falana defined that Nigeria LNG Limited, included in 1989 to produce LNG and pure gasoline liquids for export, is owned by 4 shareholders: NNPCL with 49 per cent held on behalf of the federal government of the federation, Shell with 25.6 per cent, TotalEnergies with 15 per cent and Eni International with 10.4 per cent.
According to him, for the previous 26 years, NLNG has paid dividends of over $47 billion to shareholders, out of which 49 per cent, $23.1 billion, was paid to the federal government by way of NNPCL.
“The NNPCL has failed to remit the mentioned sum of $23.1 billion to the Federation Account opposite to part 162 of the Constitution of the Federal Republic of Nigeria 1999 as amended.
The resolutions of the Senate and the House of Representative that the dividends be remitted to the Federation have been ignored by the NNPCL,” the letter mentioned.
The fourth element is $6.17 billion and N66.4 billion allegedly owed by oil and gasoline corporations as disclosed by the Nigerian Extractive Industries Transparency Initiative (NEITI).
Falana mentioned that on September 27, 2024, NEITI disclosed in its 2022/2023 Independent Oil and Gas Industry Report that excellent collectable revenues due to the Federal Government as of June 2024 stood at $6.071 billion and N66.4 billion.
After the general public presentation, a replica was despatched to the Senate and House in November 2024 in accordance with part 3 of the NEITI Act.
“The National Assembly ought to assist NEITI to recover the said sum of $6.071 billion and N66.4 billion without any further delay,” he mentioned.
The ultimate element is $2.9 billion for the rehabilitation of the Port Harcourt, Kaduna and Warri refineries.
Falana recalled that in April 2021, the Federal Executive Council accredited a $1.5 billion contract for the rehabilitation of the 2 Port Harcourt refineries to a overseas agency in three phases of 18, 24 and 44 months, and in August 2021 accredited $1.48 billion for Warri and Kaduna refineries to one other overseas agency to be accomplished in three phases inside 33 months.
In December 2024, he mentioned NNPCL introduced that Port Harcourt and Warri had been considerably accomplished whereas Kaduna was nearly accomplished.
However, he mentioned NNPCL later claimed that Warri Refinery ceased operations on January 25, 2025, due to issues of safety in its Crude Distillation Unit Main Heater whereas Port Harcourt Refineries had been shut down to endure deliberate upkeep starting May 29, 2025.
“Since the foreign firms have breached the terms of the rehabilitation contracts, we urge to direct the Economic and Financial Crimes Commission to recover the contract sum of $2.9 billion from them. This will enable the Federal Government to re-award the contracts to competent contractors,” Falana acknowledged.
Concluding, the senior advocate mentioned if the full sum of $123.17 billion and N66.4 billion is recovered, the federal authorities and respective state governments will stop to incur extra exterior loans to the detriment of the nationwide economic system.
He additionally defended his locus standi, noting that in 2017, his agency drafted the Bill for the modification of the Deep Offshore and Production Sharing Contracts Act, which was adopted and sponsored by a senator, scaled first studying within the eighth Assembly, and later adopted, modified and handed by the ninth Assembly, with then Senate President Ahmad Lawan stating it will enhance nationwide income by not lower than $1.5 billion each year.
