At the heart of the suit are six substantive reliefs sought by GUWN, which argued that the planned payout to Nwoko and his firm was “unlawful, unjustified, and a violation of due process.”
The Registered Trustees of the George Uboh Whistleblowers Network (GUWN) have dragged the Nigerian Government and several high-profile defendants before the Federal High Court in Abuja, seeking to stop the payment of $396.6 million to Senator Ned Nwoko and his company, Linas International Limited, in connection with the controversial Paris and London Club refunds.
In an originating summons filed on August 20, 2024, the civil society group asked the court to determine whether the Attorney-General of the Federation (AGF), Lateef Fagbemi (SAN), the Ministry of Finance Incorporated, and the Minister of Finance were right to process the payment based on a July 5, 2018 correspondence from a former finance minister and subsequent approvals allegedly obtained in 2024.
The plaintiff listed as 1st to 6th defendants the Attorney-General of the Federation (AGF); the Federal Ministry of Finance Incorporated; the Honourable Minister of Finance; Linas International Limited; Senator Ned Nwoko and the Incorporated Trustees of the Nigeria Governors’ Forum (NGF).
At the heart of the suit are six substantive reliefs sought by GUWN, which argued that the planned payout to Nwoko and his firm was “unlawful, unjustified, and a violation of due process.”
Key Reliefs Sought
The whistleblowers asked the court to declare that Nwoko and Linas International are not entitled to further payment of $396,615,107.19 as relayed in a November 25, 2024, letter by the AGF to President Bola Tinubu.
It also asked the court to declare that the Nigeria Governors’ Forum acted wrongly in issuing a “no objection” letter to facilitate the payment of the disputed sum and that the AGF acted improperly by seeking presidential approval for the payment despite earlier official correspondence in 2018 that, according to the plaintiff, did not authorise such disbursement.
In addition to declaratory reliefs, the group is also asking the court for a perpetual injunction restraining the Federal Government, through any of its officials, from paying the $396 million to Nwoko or his firm under any guise among others.
Others are an order rescinding both the AGF’s November 25, 2024 letter to the president and the NGF’s July 2, 2024 “no objection” letter for being “null, void, and of no effect and an order compelling the Federal Government to pay the whistleblowers’ network $19.83 million, representing 5% of the disputed sum, as reward for its whistleblowing efforts.
Whistleblowers, AGF Trade Letters Over Controversial $396Million Payout
Documents seen by our correspondent reveal an exchange of letters between the GUWN and the AGF, Lateef Fagbemi, SAN, which highlight the depth of contention surrounding the planned $396 million payment to Senator Ned Nwoko and his company, Linas International Limited.
In a strongly worded petition dated July 16, 2024, GUWN urged the AGF to rescind a November 25, 2024, letter his office had sent to President Bola Tinubu recommending payment of the disputed judgment debt.
The group argued that Linas and Nwoko had, in July 2018, accepted $350 million as “full and final settlement” of their Paris and London Club claims under the Buhari administration, which it said foreclosed any future demands.
“Coming back in 2025 during this present administration to claim US$396,615,107.19 is blatant and unadulterated fraud,” the whistleblowers wrote.
They further requested recognition under Nigeria’s whistleblower policy, noting that if their intervention saved the government from disbursing the money, they were entitled to 5% of the disputed sum—$19.83 million—as a whistleblower reward.
The letter also served as a 30-day pre-action notice, warning that legal action would follow if the AGF failed to act.
But in his November 25, 2024, memo to President Tinubu, AGF Fagbemi defended the payment, citing judgments in favour of Linas and Nwoko, as well as a fresh “no objection” letter from the Nigeria Governors’ Forum (NGF) dated July 2, 2024.
The AGF told the president that while Nwoko’s firm had earlier received part payment of $241 million in 2018, an outstanding balance of $396.6 million remained unpaid.
He pointed out that the NGF had since executed a settlement agreement with Nwoko/Linas and agreed to withdraw all pending suits contesting the claims.
He also cited multiple EFCC investigation reports (2018–2024), which, according to him, consistently confirmed that Nwoko and Linas were “the only genuine consultants validly engaged by states and local governments” in the refund process.
Summing up his position, Fagbemi advised Tinubu to approve the payment of the outstanding $396.6 million and direct the finance minister to deduct the sum from states’ and local governments’ FAAC allocations, or from other sources as deemed appropriate.
Background
The disputed funds stem from long-running claims over consultancy fees tied to the recovery of alleged over-deductions from Paris and London Club loans paid by Nigerian states. The issue has triggered repeated litigation, controversies, and presidential directives in the past.
GUWN, describing itself as a non-profit, non-governmental watchdog, told the court it uncovered attempts to reprocess questionable claims and payments despite past warnings by government officials.
The matter has not yet been assigned to a judge, and the defendants have 30 days from the date of service to enter an appearance in the case.
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