The court also ordered the former minister to provide the list and details of the beneficiaries who received the payments, the number of states covered and the payments per state.
The judgment was delivered by Justice Deinde Dipeolu, following a Freedom of Information suit by the Socio-Economic Rights and Accountability Project, SERAP.
According to a statement by SERAP’s Deputy Director, Kolawole Oluwadare, the certified true copy of the judgment was obtained last Friday.
Oluwadare stated that Justice Dipeolu in his judgement, compelled the minister by the provisions of the Freedom of Information Act to give information to any person including SERAP, and also granted an order of mandamus directing and compelling the minister to provide the spending details of the said sum in 2021.
Justice Dipeolu ordered the minister to “provide SERAP with details of how the beneficiaries have been selected and the mechanisms for the payments to the beneficiaries.
The judge also ordered the minister to explain the rationale for paying five thousand naira to twenty four point three million poor Nigerians, which translates to five percent of Nigeria’s budget of thirteen point six trillion naira for 2021.
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