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A fresh legal challenge has been instituted against the Hydrocarbon Pollution Remediation Project (HYPREP) over allegations of non-disclosure of key documents relating to the award of multi-billion-naira environmental remediation contracts in Ogoniland.
The suit, filed at the Federal High Court in Port Harcourt by Rural Development, Information and Legal Advocacy (RUDILAC), seeks to compel the agency to release procurement records connected to several controversial cleanup projects.
The case, marked FHC/PH/MSC/244/2026, stems from a Freedom of Information (FOI) request earlier submitted by the organisation to HYPREP's Project Coordinator, Professor Nenibarini Zabbey.
According to court documents, RUDILAC is demanding detailed records concerning contracts awarded to four companies — Avondale Services and Supplies Limited, One Speciality P & S Limited, Vitruvian Global Resources Limited, and Shearforce Nigeria Limited.
The organisation contends that as a public institution funded with public resources and entrusted with implementing the recommendations of the United Nations Environment Programme (UNEP) for the restoration of Ogoniland, HYPREP is obligated to operate transparently and make procurement information accessible to the public.
Among the documents being sought are approved procurement plans for the relevant fiscal years, reports from public bid-opening exercises, attendance registers, technical and financial evaluation reports, and detailed scorecards of all bidders that participated in the procurement process.
The applicants are also requesting copies of financial bids submitted by competing firms, Certificates of No Objection issued by the Bureau of Public Procurement (BPP), formal contract award letters, and certificates indicating the completion of the projects.
RUDILAC, through its Director of Operations, Comrade Jonah Karikpo, argued that public scrutiny of the contracts is necessary to ensure accountability and sustain public confidence in the ongoing environmental restoration programme in Ogoniland.
The group maintained that access to such information is guaranteed under the Freedom of Information Act, 2011, and that public agencies are legally bound to disclose records unless specifically exempted by law.
When the matter came up before the Port Harcourt Division of the Federal High Court, presiding judge, Justice A.T. Mohammed, adjourned proceedings until June 15, 2026, for further hearing.
Observers say the suit highlights the growing determination of civil society organisations to utilise the FOI Act as a tool for monitoring public spending, particularly within Nigeria's extractive and environmental sectors where large sums of money are routinely expended.
The applicants further argued that any deliberate refusal to release the requested documents could amount to a breach of the FOI Act, citing provisions that criminalise the intentional denial, alteration, concealment or destruction of public records.
Professor Zabbey, a renowned scholar in Biomonitoring and Restoration Ecology, was appointed to lead HYPREP by President Bola Ahmed Tinubu in 2024. His tenure has attracted public attention amid debates surrounding the management and implementation of the Ogoni cleanup programme.
HYPREP remains the federal government's flagship agency for the remediation of hydrocarbon-polluted sites in Ogoniland and other parts of the Niger Delta, a responsibility that has consistently drawn both local and international scrutiny because of the scale of environmental degradation and the enormous financial commitments involved.
As of the time of filing this report, HYPREP had not issued an official response to the lawsuit. RUDILAC, however, insists it will pursue the case to its conclusion, arguing that transparency, accountability and institutional integrity are essential to the success and credibility of environmental remediation efforts in the Niger Delta.
