Nigeria's money is out there, and Femi Falana wants it back. The senior advocate has given the National Assembly 14 days to start recovering over $123 billion and N66.4 billion he says NNPCL and other oil and gas companies owe the Federation Account, or his firm heads to the Federal High Court.
In a letter dated October 28, 2026, addressed to the Senate President and copied to the Speaker of the House of Representatives, Falana broke down the alleged debt into five categories: unpaid royalties, proceeds of crude oil theft, unremitted NLNG dividends, outstanding taxes and revenues flagged by NEITI, and refinery rehabilitation contract sums. He backed every claim with court judgments, government reports and legislative investigations, according to Vanguard, which first reported the story on October 29.
The $62 billion royalty question
The biggest item on the list is an estimated $62 billion in royalties Falana says international oil companies never paid over 18 years, because the Deep Offshore and Inland Basin Production Sharing Contracts Act was not implemented. This is not a new fight. Falana's firm helped prepare the bill to amend that Act, which the National Assembly later adopted and passed.
A Supreme Court consent judgment delivered on October 20, 2018 directed the Federal Government to collect the outstanding royalties and pay oil-producing states their 13 per cent derivation entitlements once the money comes in. The Federal High Court followed up with judgments in favour of Akwa Ibom and Rivers states for a combined $3.3 billion, while Bayelsa State won a separate judgment of $951 million. Falana says the Federal Government has still not complied.
That derivation angle matters beyond the courtroom. The Pan Niger Delta Forum has been pushing the National Assembly to raise oil derivation from 13 per cent to 50 per cent, and has separately demanded half of crude oil revenue for oil-producing states through FAAC. If Falana's recovery effort succeeds, the Niger Delta communities that have carried the cost of extraction for decades would finally see their court-ordered share.
Crude oil theft: $29 billion shipped out without records
Falana's letter also targets about $29 billion linked to crude oil theft and undeclared exports between 2011 and 2014. Lawyers engaged by NIMASA reportedly identified about 60.2 million barrels of crude, valued at $12.7 billion, discharged at a port in Philadelphia in the United States over that period.
A House of Representatives ad hoc committee that investigated undeclared crude and LNG exports in the same window found another $17 billion in shipments that left Nigeria without proper records. Falana wants the companies allegedly involved pursued for the full amount, while civil cases filed by NIMASA remain pending at the Federal High Court.
Let that sink in. Barrels that belong to the Nigerian people were landing in America, and nobody here was counting. That is not leakage. That is a pipeline of wealth flowing one way, out.
NNPCL and the $23.1 billion NLNG dividends
Falana alleges that NNPCL has failed to remit $23.1 billion in dividends from the Federal Government's 49 per cent stake in Nigeria LNG Limited. NLNG has paid more than $47 billion in dividends to shareholders over 26 years, with the Federal Government's share routed through NNPCL, but the money never reached the Federation Account.
Falana says this contravenes Section 162 of the 1999 Constitution, as amended. Both chambers of the National Assembly have passed resolutions calling for the remittance, and nothing happened. He has also previously urged the Nigeria Governors' Forum to sue NNPCL over the unremitted NLNG dividends, showing he has been ringing this bell long before this letter.
NEITI's ledger and the refinery billions
NEITI's 2022/2023 oil and gas industry report put outstanding collectible revenues due to the Federal Government at $6.071 billion and N66.4 billion as of June 2024. Falana wants the National Assembly to back NEITI in recovering every naira and dollar.
Then there are the refineries. The Federal Executive Council approved $1.5 billion in April 2021 to rehabilitate the Port Harcourt refineries and another $1.48 billion in August 2021 for Warri and Kaduna. Falana, citing NNPCL's own announcements on the refineries' status, alleges the foreign contractors breached their contracts. He wants the EFCC to investigate and recover about $2.9 billion, money that could fund competent contractors instead of foreign ones who took the cash and left the plants struggling.
What recovery would mean for Nigeria
Falana's argument is simple and sharp: recover this money and Nigeria borrows less. The Federal Government and the states would have no reason to keep knocking on the doors of foreign lenders if the billions already earned from Nigerian crude actually landed in Nigerian accounts.
One note on the numbers. The letter's heading cites $123.17 billion, while its concluding paragraph refers to $118.67 billion alongside the N66.4 billion. The figures are Falana's claims, presented as amounts requiring recovery, and have not been independently verified.
Frequently asked questions
How much money does Femi Falana want recovered?
Falana is demanding the recovery of over $123 billion and N66.4 billion he says is owed to the Federation Account by NNPCL and other oil and gas companies, covering royalties, crude oil theft proceeds, NLNG dividends, taxes and refinery contract sums.
What happens if the government does not act?
Falana has given the authorities 14 days from receipt of his October 28, 2026 letter to initiate recovery measures. After that, his firm will file legal proceedings at the Federal High Court to compel action.
Why does the $62 billion royalty claim matter to oil-producing states?
A 2018 Supreme Court consent judgment directed the Federal Government to collect the royalties and pay oil-producing states their 13 per cent derivation entitlements upon recovery, so the money would flow directly to the Niger Delta and other producing states.