Human rights lawyer and Senior Advocate of Nigeria, Femi Falana, has given the Senate 14 days to initiate measures to recover $123.17bn and N66.4bn allegedly owed to the Federation Account by the Nigerian National Petroleum Company Limited and other oil and gas companies.
Falana made the demand in a letter dated October 28, 2026, addressed to Senate President, Godswill Akpabio, and copied to the Speaker of the House of Representatives, Tajudeen Abbas.
In the letter, 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 outstanding revenues were recovered and paid into the Federation Account.
He warned that failure to initiate recovery measures within 14 days would compel his law firm to approach the Federal High Court to seek an order compelling the relevant authorities to discharge their statutory responsibilities.
According to Falana, the alleged outstanding revenues include unpaid oil royalties, proceeds from crude oil theft, unremitted dividends, outstanding industry revenues and money spent on refinery rehabilitation contracts.
He identified $62bn in unpaid royalties allegedly owed by international oil companies over 18 years as a major component of the amount.
Falana said the outstanding royalties arose from the non-implementation of provisions of the Deep Offshore and Inland Basin Production Sharing Contracts Act, which provides for an upward review of royalties when international crude oil prices exceed $20 per barrel.
He recalled that a Supreme Court consent judgment delivered on October 20, 2018, directed the Federal Government to collect outstanding royalties accrued under the law.
He added that Akwa Ibom and Rivers states subsequently secured a Federal High Court judgment for a combined $3.3bn, while Bayelsa State obtained a separate judgment for $951m. Falana alleged that the Federal Government had yet to comply with the judgments.
The lawyer also demanded the recovery of $29bn linked to alleged crude oil theft and undeclared exports. He cited findings attributed to the Nigerian Maritime Administration and Safety Agency and a House of Representatives committee concerning oil exports between 2011 and 2014.
On Nigeria LNG Limited dividends, Falana alleged that NNPC had failed to remit $23.1bn representing the Federal Government’s share of dividends from its 49 per cent ownership stake in the company.
He argued that the money should have been transferred to the Federation Account in line with Section 162 of the 1999 Constitution, as amended.
He further cited the Nigerian Extractive Industries Transparency Initiative’s 2022/2023 oil and gas industry report, which reportedly identified $6.071bn and N66.4bn in outstanding collectible revenues as of June 2024.
Falana also called for the recovery of about $2.9bn spent on the rehabilitation of the Port Harcourt, Warri and Kaduna refineries, alleging that the contractors failed to fulfil their contractual obligations.
He urged the National Assembly to involve the Economic and Financial Crimes Commission in pursuing the recovery of the funds from companies allegedly responsible.
The senior advocate maintained that recovering the outstanding revenues would strengthen government finances, improve resources available to the federation and reduce dependence on external borrowing.
He warned that his firm would institute legal proceedings at the Federal High Court if the Senate failed to begin the recovery process within the stipulated 14 days.
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