The Federal Government has hired a team of 23 lawyers made up of six Senior Advocates of Nigeria (SAN) to defend a suit by a civil society group, Kingdom Human Rights Foundation International against President Bola Tinubu and his son, Seyi, the Federal Ministry of Works and its minister, David Umahi and the Attorney General of the Federation and Minister of Justice, Lateef Fagbemi, over the Lagos-Calabar Coastal Highway project.
Other defendants in the suit marked FHC/ABJ/CS/1700/2024 are Chagoury Group of Companies and Hitech Construction Company.
The plaintiff, represented by Okere Kingdom, invoked the provisions of the Freedom of Information Act (FoI) Act, in seeking to obtain details of the entire procedure and documents evidencing compliance with the Procurement Act in awarding the contract to Chagoury Group of Companies.
However, in response to the suit, the Federal Government has hired among others A.J. Owonikoko, Mahmud Magaji, Prof. J.O. Olatoke, Yakubu Hussaini Ruba, Emmanuel Esene and Roy O.U. Nwaeze.
In their counter-affidavit filed against the suit, the defendants contended that the information sought by the plaintiff, if released to him, would harm the interest of all Nigerians as the procuring entity’s common bill of quantities for the entire project would be made public for all present and prospective contractors to know the contents, saying that such is against the practice in road construction procurement.
The Lagos-Calabar Coastal Highway initiated in 2024 is a 700km-750km infrastructure project connecting Lagos to Cross River State, aiming to boost trade and reduce travel time.
The project passes through nine coastal states with an estimated cost of ₦7.5 billion per kilometre. First phase construction is underway as of April 2026.
The suit by the plaintiff is premised on the alleged corruption in the award of the contract, breach of the Procurement Act, lack of due process and breach of the Code of Conduct for public officers contained in the fifth schedule of the 1999 constitution, in relation to the interest of President Tinubu’s son, Seyi, as a Director on the board of CDK Integrated Industries, a subsidiary of the Chagoury Group, the owner of Hightech, the contractor that was awarded the contract for the highway project.
Specifically, the suit is seeking an order compelling Umahi to make the following documents available: “A copy of the announcement/advertorial placed by the Federal Ministry of Works in the federal tender publication or any other newspaper in respect of the contract.
“All documents in relation to the agreement in relation to the contract bidding, such as tax clearance, tender, PENCOM certificate, bill of quantity, environmental assessment and other relevant documents.
“The contract agreement signed/executed between the Federal Government and the contractors handling the contract.
“Documents evidencing/disclosing the total amount so far paid by the Federal Government to the company handling the contract.”
The plaintiff alleged that the project was awarded and being done in excess of $13 billion as it was awarded without a competitive bidding in a manner that suggests President Tinubu family’s business interest was prioritised over and above national interest.
Meanwhile, the matter has been adjourned to July 8 for a definite hearing before Justice Binta Nyako of the Abuja division of the Federal High Court.
