The Socio-Economic Rights and Accountability Project (SERAP) has filed a lawsuit in the Federal High Court, Lagos against the Code of Conduct Bureau (CCB).
In a statement issued on Sunday, SERAP said it was suing the CCB over its claim that it could not disclose details of asset declarations submitted to it by successive presidents and state governors since 1999 because doing so “would offend the right to privacy of presidents and state governors.”
According to the human rights group, the CCB had last week refused a Freedom of Information request by SERAP, stating that: “Asset declaration form is private information.”
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But in the suit filed last Friday, SERAP argued that “Asset declarations of presidents and state governors submitted to the CCB are public documents. The group maintained that Public interest in disclosure of the details of asset declarations sought by SERAP clearly outweighs any claim of protection of the privacy of presidents and state governors, as they are public officers entrusted with the duty to manage public funds, among other public functions.”