The Socio-Economic Rights and Accountability Project (SERAP) has taken legal action against the 36 state governors and the Minister of the Federal Capital Territory, Mr. Nyesom Wike, over alleged unaccounted funds spanning two decades.
The lawsuit, filed at the Federal High Court in Abuja, seeks to compel the governors and the FCT Minister to provide transparent and comprehensive accountability for the utilization of substantial financial resources allocated to their respective states and the FCT through the Federation Account Allocation Committee (FAAC) since 1999.
Specifically, SERAP is asking the court to:
♦Direct the governors and the FCT Minister to publish spending details of FAAC allocations collected by their states and the FCT since 1999, including the list and locations of projects executed with the money.
♦ Compel the governors and the FCT Minister to invite the Economic and Financial Crimes Commission (EFCC) and the Independent Corrupt Practices and Other Related Offences Commission (ICPC) to probe any allegations of corruption linked to the allocations and to monitor how the money is spent.
SERAP argues that Nigerians have the right to know how public funds, including FAAC allocations, are spent by the governors and the FCT Minister, and that opacity in the spending of these funds would continue to have negative impacts on the fundamental interests of citizens.
The lawsuit comes in the wake of reports indicating that the FAAC disbursed significant sums to the various tiers of government in recent months, including N1.123 trillion in March 2024 and N1.208 trillion in April 2024.
SERAP’s legal team, comprising Kolawole Oluwadare, Kehinde Oyewumi, and Andrew Nwankwo, filed the suit on behalf of the organization.
No date has been fixed for the hearing of the suit.
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