It also urged the court to direct the governors to use the fund to address the impact of COVID-19 on millions of Nigerians, as well as publish details of spending on COVID-19 in their respective states.
In the suit filed last Friday, SERAP is seeking an order for leave to apply for judicial review and an order of mandamus to direct and compel the 36 state governors to disclose how much they have individually collected from the Federal Government as COVID-19 support, from private donations and other sources.
SERAP is also seeking a declaration that the failure of the state governors to respond in a satisfactory way to its requests amount to a fundamental breach of the FoI Act, the 1999 Nigerian Constitution and the African Charter on Human and Peoples’ Rights.
The suit followed SERAP’s Freedom of Information requests dated 25 April 2020, expressing concern that many state governors are spending scarce state resources to pay themselves security votes and their predecessors’ life pensions rather than using public funds to effectively respond to COVID-19 by investing in and improving public healthcare facilities in their states.
