The Socio-Economic Rights and Accountability Project (SERAP) has filed a lawsuit against Nigeria’s state governors and the Minister of the Federal Capital Territory, Nyesom Wike, over their alleged failure to account for the spending of billions of naira allocated as security votes since May 29, 2023.
SERAP said the suit was prompted by reports of the recent massacre in Benue State and persistent cases of insecurity across several states and the FCT, despite more than N400bn reportedly budgeted annually as security votes. The organisation argued that the continued violence raises serious concerns about transparency and accountability in the use of public funds earmarked for security.
In the suit, SERAP is asking the court to compel the governors and the FCT minister to provide detailed reports on how security votes have been allocated and spent by their respective states and the FCT. The group also wants disclosure of implementation details and completion reports to show how the funds were used to address insecurity.
SERAP maintained that citizens have a right to know how public funds are spent and that secrecy surrounding security votes undermines accountability and effective governance.
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