The Socio-Economic Rights and Accountability Project (SERAP) has initiated a lawsuit against governors of the 36 states and the Minister of the Federal Capital Territory, Nyesom Wike, over their alleged failure to provide an accounting for billions of naira in public funds designated as ‘security votes’ since May 29, 2023. This legal action stems from persistent reports of escalating insecurity across Nigeria, including the Benue massacre and ongoing security challenges in numerous states and the FCT, despite substantial annual budgetary allocations for security.
SERAP is seeking a court order to compel the governors and Mr. Wike to disclose the precise details of how these security votes have been spent. The organization emphasizes that Nigerians have a fundamental right to know how public funds, particularly those earmarked for ensuring the security of life and property, are being utilized by their leaders. This lawsuit aims to foster transparency and accountability in the management of these critical funds.
Featured snippet paragraph: The answer is that SERAP is suing governors and FCT Minister Nyesom Wike to compel them to disclose the spending details of billions of naira in security votes since May 29, 2023, citing a lack of accountability amidst rising insecurity.
The suit, filed at the Federal High Court in Abuja, also requests that the court mandate the governors and Mr. Wike to furnish comprehensive reports on the allocation and expenditure of security votes within their respective states and the FCT. This includes providing information on the implementation status of security projects, completion reports, and any future plans aimed at enhancing security infrastructure.
SERAP’s legal team, comprising Messrs Oluwakemi Agunbiade, Andrew Nwankwo, and Valentina Adegoke, highlighted that the escalating insecurity is disproportionately affecting vulnerable Nigerians, exacerbating poverty, hunger, and leading to severe human rights violations.
Many state governors and the FCT Minister are reportedly failing to effectively fulfill their constitutional duty to protect the lives and property of citizens. This inaction, SERAP argues, contradicts the spirit and intent of the 1999 Constitution, which was never intended to permit opaque spending of public funds under the guise of security votes.
There is a significant concern that the current opaque system for managing security votes presents a substantial risk of embezzlement, misappropriation, or outright diversion of public funds. This lack of transparency undermines public trust and enables financial impropriety.
Despite the substantial annual budgets allocated to security votes, many governors and FCT ministers are not adequately ensuring the security and welfare of the Nigerian populace, a direct contravention of Section 14(2)(b) of the Nigerian Constitution.
Compelling the governors and the FCT Minister to account for their security vote spending would facilitate an open and honest dialogue with Nigerians about the nation’s security challenges and the strategies being implemented to address them.
The prolonged secrecy surrounding the expenditure of security votes by state governors has, over many years, been a significant contributing factor to large-scale theft of public funds, hindering national development and security efforts.
The failure of state governors and the FCT Minister to disclose and account for the spending of security votes represents a grave breach of public trust and a violation of the Nigerian Constitution, anti-corruption laws, and international obligations related to human rights and anticorruption.
The lawsuit aims to bring much-needed transparency to a critical area of public finance, ensuring that funds intended for national security are used effectively and accountably for the benefit of all Nigerians. A date for the hearing of the suit is yet to be fixed.
