Human rights lawyer and Senior Advocate of Nigeria, Femi Falana, has called on the National Assembly to ensure the recovery of $123.17bn and N66.4bn in alleged outstanding oil revenues owed to the Federal Government by the Nigerian National Petroleum Company Limited (NNPC) and other oil and gas companies.

Falana made the demand in a letter dated October 28, 2026, urging lawmakers to compel the relevant authorities to recover the funds and transfer them into the Federation Account.

He warned that he would approach the Federal High Court if the government failed to begin recovery efforts within 14 days of receiving the letter.

The lawyer identified several outstanding payments, including $62bn in unpaid oil royalties, $23.1bn in alleged unremitted dividends from Nigeria LNG Limited (NLNG), and $6.071bn in other industry revenues. He also cited claims involving crude oil theft and undeclared exports.

On the outstanding royalties, Falana referred to a Supreme Court consent judgment delivered on October 20, 2018, which directed the Federal Government to collect unpaid royalties accumulated over 18 years under the Deep Offshore and Inland Basin Production Sharing Contracts Act.

He said a committee set up by the Office of the Attorney-General of the Federation had identified $62bn in royalties that international oil companies allegedly failed to pay.

According to him, Akwa Ibom and Rivers states subsequently secured a combined $3.3bn judgment at the Federal High Court, while Bayelsa State obtained a separate judgment of $951m over their share of the outstanding payments.

Falana also called for the recovery of $29bn linked to alleged crude oil theft and unrecorded exports. He cited investigations by the Nigerian Maritime Administration and Safety Agency and the House of Representatives, which reportedly identified crude oil and liquefied natural gas shipments exported without proper records.

The lawyer further alleged that NNPC had failed to remit $23.1bn in dividends received on behalf of the Federal Government from its 49 per cent stake in NLNG.

He argued that the funds should have been transferred to the Federation Account in line with Section 162 of the 1999 Constitution, as amended.

On other outstanding industry payments, Falana cited the Nigerian Extractive Industries Transparency Initiative’s 2022/2023 oil and gas industry report, which put collectible revenues owed to the Federal Government at $6.071bn and N66.4bn as of June 2024.

He urged the National Assembly to support NEITI and direct the Economic and Financial Crimes Commission to pursue the recovery of the funds.

The letter also raised concerns over the rehabilitation of the Port Harcourt, Warri and Kaduna refineries, for which the Federal Executive Council approved contracts worth a combined $2.98bn in 2021.

Falana questioned the outcome of the projects, noting that despite NNPC’s December 2024 announcement that the Port Harcourt and Warri refineries had been substantially completed, the Warri facility was shut down in January 2025 following safety concerns. The Port Harcourt refineries also closed for planned maintenance in May 2025.

He argued that the contractors had failed to fulfil their obligations and called for the recovery of the rehabilitation funds.

Falana maintained that recovering the alleged outstanding revenues would increase government income, reduce reliance on foreign borrowing and provide additional resources for the Federal Government and state governments.

He insisted that the authorities must begin the recovery process within 14 days or face legal action at the Federal High Court.