SERAP has sued Governors and Wike over alleged failure to account for N400bn Security Votes.
NewsOnline Nigeria reports that the Socio-Economic Rights and Accountability Project (SERAP) has filed a lawsuit against state governors and the Minister of the Federal Capital Territory (FCT), Nyesom Wike, over their alleged failure to account for billions of naira spent as security votes since May 29, 2023.
SERAP said the suit was prompted by persistent insecurity across several states and the FCT despite huge public funds allocated annually to security votes, amid reports of mass killings in Benue State and other violent incidents nationwide.
The development was disclosed in a statement signed by SERAP’s Deputy Director, Kolawole Oluwadare, and made available on Sunday.
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The suit, marked FHC/ABJ/CS/95/2026, was filed last Friday at the Federal High Court in Abuja. SERAP is asking the court to compel state governors and the FCT minister to publicly disclose details of how security votes received since May 29, 2023, have been spent.
The organisation is also seeking an order directing the defendants to provide comprehensive reports on the allocation, utilisation, implementation status and completion of projects funded with security votes, as well as any concrete plans to strengthen security infrastructure in their respective states and the FCT.
According to SERAP, over N400 billion is budgeted annually as security votes across Nigeria, with at least 10 governors reportedly earmarking about N140 billion for the same purpose in the 2026 budget year.
The rights group argued that Nigerians have a constitutional right to know how public funds meant to protect lives and property are being utilised.
“Nigerians ought to know in what manner public funds, including security votes meant to ensure the security of life and property, are spent by the governors and the FCT minister,” SERAP stated.
SERAP warned that escalating insecurity is taking a severe toll on vulnerable Nigerians, worsening poverty, hunger and human rights violations across the country.
“The escalating insecurity in several states and the FCT is taking a devastating toll on socially and economically vulnerable Nigerians,” the organisation said, adding that many governors and the FCT minister had failed to effectively discharge their constitutional duty to protect lives and property.
The group stressed that the 1999 Constitution (as amended) does not support secretive spending of public funds, noting that transparency and accountability are fundamental principles of democracy.
“The framers of the Nigerian Constitution never contemplated opaque spending of public funds as security votes,” SERAP said, adding that citizens’ right to information promotes openness and strengthens democratic governance.
Filed on behalf of SERAP by its lawyers, Oluwakemi Agunbiade, Andrew Nwankwo and Valentina Adegoke, the suit further argued that secrecy surrounding security votes increases the risk of embezzlement and diversion of public funds.
“There is a significant risk of embezzlement, misappropriation or diversion of public funds collected by the states and the FCT as security votes,” the organisation warned.
SERAP also noted that years of secrecy have undermined public oversight, allowing public officials to evade scrutiny over their handling of security responsibilities.
The organisation cited a Supreme Court judgment affirming that the Freedom of Information Act applies to public records across the federation, including records on security votes held by state governments and the FCT.
“With this landmark judgment, the Supreme Court has made it clear that state governors can no longer hide under the claim that the Freedom of Information Act does not apply to them,” SERAP stated.
While acknowledging that certain operational details may be protected for national security reasons, SERAP maintained that there is no legal justification for withholding basic information on public spending.
“The failure by state governors and the FCT minister to disclose and account for the spending of security votes amounts to a grave violation of public trust,” the organisation said, adding that treating security votes as personal entitlement violates constitutional and international standards.
SERAP also referenced a recent World Bank classification of Nigeria as an economy in fragile and conflict-affected situations, linking rising insecurity to extreme poverty, food insecurity and weak state capacity.
No date has been fixed for the hearing of the suit.
