By BONIFACE AKARAH

The Human Rights Writers Association of Nigeria (HURIWA) has demanded an immediate criminal investigation into the alleged diversion of over N34.53 trillion in public revenue, following a World Bank disclosure that about 41 per cent of federation revenue was deducted through “first-line charges” before reaching the Federation Account between 2023 and 2025.

In a statement signed by its National Coordinator, Comrade Emmanuel Onwubiko, HURIWA described the revelation as confirmation of what it called the existence of a “shadow government financial system” operating outside public scrutiny and constitutional accountability.

“The Human Rights Writers Association of Nigeria (HURIWA) has reacted with outrage, shock and deep national concern over the disturbing revelation by the World Bank that more than N34.53 trillion in Nigerian public revenue was deducted and diverted through opaque ‘first-line charges’ before reaching the Federation Account between 2023 and 2025,” the statement read.

The group said the disclosure suggested that “powerful institutions and politically connected agencies” had allegedly appropriated public resources outside transparent legislative oversight.

“This shocking disclosure by a respected international financial institution confirms the long-standing fears of millions of Nigerians that a dangerous shadow fiscal structure now exists within the Nigerian state,” HURIWA said.

According to the rights group, the alleged deductions came at a period of worsening hardship, inflation, unemployment and insecurity, making the development “morally indefensible and economically criminal.”

“At a time when Nigerians are enduring unprecedented economic hardship, mass hunger, collapsing purchasing power, rising unemployment, worsening insecurity, failing public hospitals, underfunded schools and crippling inflation, it is morally indefensible and economically criminal that over N34 trillion could disappear through a system deliberately designed to avoid transparency and public accountability,” the group stated.

HURIWA cited the World Bank as stating that approximately 41 per cent of federation revenue never reached the Federation Account because it was retained by agencies under statutory deductions and cost-of-collection arrangements.

The association named the Nigerian National Petroleum Company Limited (NNPCL), Nigeria Customs Service and other revenue-generating agencies as institutions reportedly implicated in the scrutiny over retained revenues.

“HURIWA notes with serious concern that agencies allegedly implicated in this scandal include the Nigerian National Petroleum Company Limited (NNPCL), the Nigeria Customs Service and other major revenue-generating institutions whose internally retained revenues and cost-of-collection mechanisms have now become subjects of international scrutiny,” it said.

The group also accused the National Assembly of failing in its oversight role, arguing that lawmakers could not claim ignorance over what it described as “massive off-budget spending systems.”

“A legislature that permits the operation of massive off-budget spending systems amounting to tens of trillions of naira cannot honestly claim ignorance,” HURIWA stated.

The association further warned anti-corruption agencies, including the Economic and Financial Crimes Commission (EFCC), Independent Corrupt Practices and Other Related Offences Commission (ICPC), Code of Conduct Bureau (CCB) and the Nigeria Police Force, against remaining silent.

“If the EFCC, the ICPC, the Code of Conduct Bureau, the Nigeria Police Force and other anti-corruption institutions fail to launch immediate criminal investigations into this monumental scandal, then the Nigerian people would be justified in concluding that these agencies have become mere decorative institutions incapable of confronting elite corruption,” the group said.

Among its demands, HURIWA called for an independent judicial commission of inquiry, forensic audits of the NNPCL and Customs Service, emergency public hearings by the National Assembly, and public disclosure of all retained funds and beneficiaries.

The group also demanded the suspension and prosecution of any public official found to have violated constitutional appropriation procedures or abused statutory revenue-retention provisions.

HURIWA gave the Federal Government, EFCC, ICPC, the Attorney-General of the Federation and National Assembly leadership until noon on Friday to publicly announce “concrete investigative and accountability measures” over the matter.

“Failure to act decisively will confirm growing public fears that Nigeria’s anti-corruption framework has collapsed completely under political interference, institutional capture, and elite conspiracy against the Nigerian people,” the statement added.