By Daniel Oluwatobiloba Popoola
The Socio-Economic Rights and Accountability Project (SERAP) has dragged state governors and the Minister of the Federal Capital Territory, Nyesom Wike, before the Federal High Court in Abuja over their alleged failure to account for billions of naira spent as security votes since Monday,29 May,2023, amid worsening insecurity across the country.
The lawsuit was instituted to compel transparency and accountability in the use of public funds allocated annually to security, especially in the face of recurring violence and mass killings in several states.
SERAP disclosed the development in a statement issued on Sunday,18 January, 2026 and signed by its Deputy Director, Kolawole Oluwadare.
According to the organisation, the decision to approach the court was prompted by persistent insecurity across many states and the FCT, despite the huge sums of public money budgeted yearly as security votes.
Accordingly, the suit, marked FHC/ABJ/CS/95/2026, was filed last Friday at the Federal High Court in Abuja.
In the action, SERAP is asking the court to compel all state governors and the FCT minister to publicly disclose details of how security votes collected since May 29, 2023, have been spent.
In addition, the organisation is seeking an order directing the respondents to provide comprehensive reports on the allocation, utilisation, implementation status and completion of projects funded with security votes.
It is also asking the court to mandate the disclosure of any plans put in place to improve security infrastructure in their respective states and the FCT.
Meanwhile, SERAP noted that over N400bn is budgeted annually as security votes across the country.
It further stated that at least 10 governors reportedly earmarked about N140bn for security votes in the 2026 budget year, a development the group said raised serious concerns about transparency and effectiveness.
In its argument before the court, SERAP maintained that Nigerians have a fundamental right to know how public funds meant to protect lives and property are utilised.
The organisation stressed that citizens ought to be informed about the manner in which security votes are spent by state governors and the FCT minister.
Furthermore, SERAP warned that escalating insecurity in several states and the FCT was taking a devastating toll on socially and economically vulnerable Nigerians, thereby worsening poverty, hunger and human rights abuses.
It argued that many governors and the FCT minister had failed to effectively discharge their constitutional responsibility to safeguard lives and property.
The rights group also contended that the Nigerian Constitution does not support secretive spending of public funds. Rather, it emphasised that transparency and accountability are essential pillars of democracy.
According to SERAP, the framers of the 1999 Constitution, as amended, never contemplated opaque expenditure of public funds under the guise of security votes, noting that citizens’ right to know promotes openness and strengthens democratic governance.
Moreover, the suit, filed on behalf of SERAP by its lawyers Oluwakemi Agunbiade, Andrew Nwankwo and Valentina Adegoke, argued that secrecy surrounding security votes heightens the risk of embezzlement, misappropriation and diversion of public funds.
The organisation said that years of opacity had undermined public oversight and accountability, thereby allowing public officials to evade scrutiny over their handling of security responsibilities.
In addition, SERAP relied on 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 states and the FCT.
The group said the apex court had made it clear that state governors could no longer hide behind claims that the Act does not apply to them.
While acknowledging that certain operational details may legitimately be protected for national security reasons, SERAP insisted that there was no legal basis for withholding basic information on public spending.
Consequently, it described the failure of governors and the FCT minister to disclose and account for security votes as a grave violation of public trust, adding that treating such funds as personal entitlements runs contrary to constitutional and international standards.
Furthermore, the organisation referenced a recent World Bank classification of Nigeria as an economy in fragile and conflict-affected situations.
It linked the country’s rising insecurity to extreme poverty, food insecurity and weak state capacity.
According to SERAP, Nigeria was listed alongside 38 other fragile and conflict-affected countries, including Afghanistan, Burkina Faso, Cameroon, Ethiopia, Libya, Mali and Sudan.
Quoting the World Bank, the group said the outlook for poverty in Nigeria is sobering, with millions of people experiencing acute food insecurity and severe gaps in education and healthcare undermining human development.
Meanwhile, it was disclosed that no date has been fixed for the hearing of the suit.
