The Socio-Economic Rights and Accountability Project (SERAP) has urged the Minister of Finance, Mr Taiwo Oyedele, to immediately disclose the identities of all entities that benefited from the payments under the National Public Security Communication System project in Abuja, commonly referred to as the $460 million Abuja CCTV Project.
The Federal Ministry of Finance, in response to SERAP’s contempt proceedings, had recently disclosed that: “Records from the Ministry of Police Affairs indicate that while local subcontractors may have been engaged, there is an absence of detailed subcontracting records identifying specific local companies that received funds directly from the Chinese loan.”
The Ministry made the disclosure in a letter dated May 15, 2026, signed by its Permanent Secretary, R. O. Omachi.
Responding, SERAP, in a letter dated May 23, 2026, signed by its deputy director, Mr Kolawole Oluwadare, said: “We are concerned that although the judgment was delivered in May 2023, the Ministry only released some information after we commenced contempt proceedings and served a Notice to Show Cause in January 2026.”
According to SERAP, “Nigerians still do not know exactly the names of local contractors for the project. The absence of this information raises serious concerns about record keeping, transparency and accountability, and whether the project was implemented in a manner consistent with the public interest.”
On May 15, 2023, the Federal High Court ordered the Ministry of Finance to disclose the total amount paid under the $460 million Abuja CCTV loan, the identities of local and Chinese contractors who received the funds, the status of the project’s implementation, and details relating to the N1.5 billion reportedly paid for the Code of Conduct Bureau headquarters project.
SERAP said, “The details provided amount to only partial compliance with Justice Emeka Nwite’s judgment. Key questions remain unanswered, and further clarification is needed to ensure full and effective compliance with the judgment.”
The organisation noted that while it appreciates the steps taken by the Ministry to provide some information concerning the Chinese loan drawdown, counterpart funding arrangements, and certain records on equipment deliveries connected with the project, there is still no explanation regarding the missing 6,035 items as part of the status of implementation of the project.
“It remains unclear whether the items were subsequently delivered, whether payment was made for them, whether the contractor defaulted, whether Nigeria suffered any financial loss, and whether any steps were taken to recover public funds.
“The Ministry lists items reportedly delivered in 2013. However, it has failed to clarify how many cameras were installed, if any; where they were installed; whether the cameras are currently operational; and whether the project delivered value for money.
“For a project financed through public borrowing—debt Nigerians continue to repay—full transparency over all beneficiaries, foreign and domestic, is essential. Nigerians have the right to know how public funds were spent, who received them, and what was delivered in return,” the group said.