N6tn NDDC Scandal: SERAP threatens contempt suit against AGF Fagbemi ‘over failure to enforce judgment’

A Landmark Ruling Opens New Doors for Public-Interest Freelancers

The court, in suit FHC/ABJ/CS/1360/2021, held that the NDDC forensic audit report and the names of indicted persons fall within the definition of public records under Section 31 of the Freedom of Information Act and are not exempted under Sections 11 to 19. It further held that the refusal by the president and the Attorney General to publish the report or act on the allegations constitutes a breach of statutory duties under the FOI Act, Section 15(5) of the Nigerian Constitution and Nigeria’s international transparency obligations.

For freelancers, this is a signal. Organisations like SERAP, donor-funded accountability projects, investigative newsrooms and parliamentary monitoring groups need research support, data cleaning, report drafting, litigation assistance and communications strategy. Many prefer to hire independent specialists rather than expand permanent staff. A consultant who can read a forensic audit, map project abandonment data and translate it into plain-language briefings has a genuinely useful service to sell.

Remote Work Trends and the Global Demand for Accountability Expertise

The shift toward remote and distributed teams is no longer limited to software developers and virtual assistants. Today, transparency institutions, anti-corruption bodies and international development agencies routinely contract researchers, editors, grant writers and monitoring-and-evaluation consultants from anywhere with a reliable internet connection.

A Nigerian freelancer with a good grasp of the Freedom of Information Act, public financial management and the structure of federal agencies such as the NDDC can compete for work that once required a physical desk in Abuja, Lagos or London. Court documents, audit reports, procurement records and budget data are increasingly digitised, which means due diligence can be done from a home office in Port Harcourt or a co-working space in Kano. The SERAP case shows that the information itself is publicly significant; the professionals who can organise and explain it are in demand.

Consulting Best Practices: Documentation, Due Diligence and Court-Ready Evidence

One of the strongest lessons from the judgment is that sloppy records weaken accountability. SERAP’s case succeeded because it could show a formal demand, a statutory basis for disclosure and a clear public-interest justification. Independent consultants should adopt the same discipline in every engagement.

Keep dated correspondence, maintain organised folders of source documents and note the legal or regulatory authority behind every request you make on a client’s behalf. If your work could one day support litigation, an audit, a parliamentary petition or a media investigation, it must be defensible. Build templates for freedom-of-information requests, memoranda of advice and evidence logs early in your career; they become reusable assets and help you quote confidently for repeat work.

Skill-Building for Transparency Consultants

The NDDC ruling rewards a particular mix of competencies: legal literacy, financial analysis, project management literacy and clear writing. Freelancers who want to specialise in this space should invest in understanding how Nigerian public procurement works, how audit reports are structured and how to extract data from PDFs and scanned documents.

Free and low-cost resources include the Freedom of Information Act itself, the Fiscal Responsibility Act, public audit manuals from the Office of the Auditor General, and open-data platforms such as the Budget Office and the Open Treasury portals. Short courses in data journalism, legal research or forensic accounting add credibility. Even a modest certificate can differentiate you when a small non-profit is choosing between five remote applicants for a three-month research contract.

Client Management and Ethical Boundaries

Public-interest consulting comes with extra responsibility. You may be asked to draft a petition, compile a dossier on a public official or prepare a brief for activists. Before accepting such work, clarify who the client is, what success looks like and where the factual boundaries lie. Do not invent statistics, fabricate quotes or present speculation as evidence. The SERAP case succeeds precisely because it is grounded in a real court judgment, a real audit report and real constitutional provisions.

Set clear deliverables, revision rounds and timelines in writing. If a client pressures you to move faster than the facts allow, push back politely. A reputation for accuracy is worth more than a single rushed invoice in this line of work.

Pricing and Negotiating Public-Interest Work

Many accountability organisations operate on tight budgets, which tempts consultants to undercharge. Resist the urge. Price by value and by risk, not merely by hours. A freedom-of-information research package that could lead to litigation is different from routine transcription. A forensic audit summary intended for national media carries more liability than a blog post.

When negotiating, be transparent about what is included: document review, data extraction, drafting, client calls, revisions and disbursements such as filing fees or travel. Offer tiered options so a cash-strapped NGO can choose a lighter scope without sacrificing quality. Ask for a portion of the fee upfront, especially for new clients. The discipline you bring to pricing reinforces the professional seriousness that makes clients trust you with sensitive material.

What this means

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