SERAP TAKES INEC TO COURT OVER ₦126BN MISSING ELECTORAL FUNDS

The Socio-Economic Rights and Accountability Project (SERAP) has sued the Independent National Electoral Commission (INEC) over its failure to account for over ₦126.46 billion in public funds appropriated for electoral operations but allegedly diverted, lost, mismanaged or otherwise unaccounted for.

The SERAP lawsuit, filed at the Federal High Court in Abuja, is seeking an order of mandamus to compel the commission to disclose detailed information on the expenditure and disbursement of the funds .

THE ALLEGATIONS

According to SERAP, the allegations are contained in the 2023 audited report of the Auditor-General of the Federation, published on August 7, 2026.

The funds were appropriated for the procurement of ballot boxes, electoral devices and materials, sensitive materials and result sheets, vehicles and accreditation devices, as well as payments for audit and consultancy services, digital archiving and other goods and services required for the conduct and administration of elections.

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The suit, numbered FHC/ABJ/CS/2507/2026, was filed last week at the Federal High Court in Abuja.

THE SPECIFIC FINDINGS

SERAP is asking the court to compel INEC to account for the following:· ₦112.1 billion paid for ballot boxes, electoral devices, items and materials without competitive bidding or a Bureau of Public Procurement Certificate of No Objection.

The Auditor-General found “no evidence that the items were procured” and that contracts were awarded to companies whose competences, experience, capacities, addresses and factory locations were unknown .

· ₦1.05 billion paid for Toyota Prado TXL 2021 Model vehicles without advertisement, competitive bidding, bid evaluation or a BPP Certificate of No Objection .

· ₦3.13 billion paid to four contractors for ballot guides, sensitive materials and result sheets before the contracts were awarded, with no evidence of payment .

· ₦9.24 billion paid for 22 contracts for similar goods and services, with the contracts split to circumvent procurement procedures and awarded on the same day .

SERAP’S ARGUMENT

“Electoral resources are public resources. 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,” SERAP argued .

“With the 2027 general elections approaching, transparency and accountability in the management of these funds are essential to safeguarding public confidence in the electoral process and ensuring that resources intended to support credible elections are properly utilised”.

The organisation argued that the findings suggested “a grave violation of the public trust” as well as possible breaches of the 1999 Constitution, national anti-corruption laws and Nigeria’s obligations under the United Nations Convention against Corruption.

WHY IT MATTERS

The allegations against INEC are serious. If the Auditor-General’s findings are accurate, hundreds of billions of naira appropriated for electoral operations were spent without proper procurement processes, without evidence of delivery, and in some cases, before contracts were even awarded.

This is not a minor administrative issue. It is a question of whether INEC can be trusted to manage the resources allocated for the 2027 elections.

For SERAP, the lawsuit is an attempt to force transparency before the next election cycle.

For INEC, it is a test of whether the commission can withstand scrutiny of its financial management.

ValidViewNetwork reports that the case is before the Federal High Court in Abuja. INEC has not yet responded to the lawsuit.