The Socio-Economic Rights and Accountability Project has sued the Independent National Electoral Commission at the Federal High Court in Abuja over the alleged failure to account for more than 126.46 billion naira appropriated for electoral operations. Punch reported the suit on Monday, and Leadership and The Whistler also covered the filing.
The suit, marked FHC/ABJ/CS/2507/2026 and filed last week, seeks an order of mandamus compelling INEC to disclose details of the expenditure, utilisation and disbursement of funds earmarked for the procurement of election materials, equipment and vehicles and other electoral services. SERAP also wants the commission to provide a comprehensive financial and documentary account of the funds, including amounts released, beneficiaries of payments, and the identities of contractors and their beneficial owners.
What triggered the lawsuit?
SERAP acted on allegations contained in the 2023 audited report of the Auditor-General of the Federation, published on August 7, 2026. The report covered transactions between January and December 2022, with some extending to December 31, 2023. It identified payments made without compliance with procurement requirements or sufficient evidence that contracted goods and services were supplied.
According to the suit, the Auditor-General found that INEC paid 112,155,597,845 naira for ballot boxes, electoral devices and other materials without competitive bidding or a certificate of no objection from the Bureau of Public Procurement, with no evidence that the items were procured and contracts awarded to companies whose competences and locations were unknown. The report also flagged 1.058 billion naira for Toyota Prado vehicles bought without advertisement or bid evaluation, 3.13 billion naira paid to four contractors for ballot guides and result sheets before contracts were awarded, and 9.24 billion naira across 22 contracts allegedly split to circumvent procurement procedures on the same day.
What is SERAP asking the court to do?
The organisation, whose lawyers on the filing are Kolawole Oluwadare, Kehinde Oyewumi and Andrew Nwankwo, wants the court to compel INEC to provide documentary and physical evidence showing that the more than 112 billion naira identified as irregularly paid was used to procure the electoral materials concerned, and to account for the present location and status of those materials.
In its words, electoral resources are public resources, and INEC must be able to account for every naira, demonstrate that it was lawfully spent and show that it served the purposes for which it was appropriated. The Auditor-General reportedly expressed concern that the funds may have been diverted and recommended their recovery and remittance to the treasury.
Why this matters ahead of the 2027 elections
INEC is entering an election cycle that will require billions of naira in procurement, from ballot papers to accreditation devices, and public confidence in how that money is spent directly affects trust in the results it produces. A court-ordered disclosure would set a transparency benchmark for how electoral budgets are documented, not just for INEC but for other agencies under similar audit findings.
The case also lands at a sensitive moment, with the commission defending its independence amid political contention over appointments and the pace of preparations for 2027. Nigerians will be watching whether the court grants the mandamus and whether INEC complies promptly, since delay has historically been the practical escape from accountability suits of this kind. Security agencies face their own accountability scrutiny, and electoral bodies are no exception.
Frequently asked questions
- How much is the suit about? More than 126.46 billion naira appropriated for electoral operations.
- What does SERAP want? An order compelling INEC to disclose how the funds were spent, who received them, and the identity of contractors.
- What prompted the suit? Allegations in the Auditor-General of the Federation's 2023 audited report, published in August 2026.
Sources: Punch (October 19, 2026), Leadership (October 2026), The Whistler (October 2026).
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