SERAP Drags INEC to Court Over Alleged Failure to Account for Missing ₦55.9bn Election Funds

The Socio-Economic Rights and Accountability Project (SERAP) has instituted a lawsuit against the Independent National Electoral Commission (INEC) over what it described as the commission’s failure to account for the alleged missing or diverted ₦55.9 billion earmarked for election materials used in the 2019 general elections.

The allegations are contained in the latest annual report released by the Auditor-General of the Federation on 9 September 2025.

In the suit marked FHC/ABJ/CS/38/2026, filed last Friday at the Federal High Court in Abuja, SERAP is asking the court to issue “an order of mandamus to direct and compel INEC to account for the missing or diverted ₦55.9 billion meant to buy smart card readers, ballot papers, and other election materials for the 2019 general elections.”

SERAP is also seeking “an order of mandamus to direct and compel INEC to disclose the names of all contractors paid the ₦55.9 billion for the procurement of smart card readers, ballot papers, result sheets, and other election materials for the 2019 general elections, including the names of their directors and shareholders.”

In the suit, SERAP argued that “INEC must operate without corruption if the commission is to ensure free and fair elections in the country and uphold Nigerians’ right to participation.”

The organisation further contended that “INEC cannot ensure impartial administration of future elections if these allegations are not satisfactorily addressed, perpetrators including the contractors involved are not prosecuted and the proceeds of corruption are not fully recovered.”

According to SERAP, “INEC cannot properly carry out its constitutional and statutory responsibilities to conduct free and fair elections in the country if it continues to fail to uphold the basic principles of transparency, accountability and the rule of law.”

SERAP also maintained that “these allegations also constitute abuse of public office and show the urgent need by INEC to commit to transparency, accountability, clean governance and the rule of law,” adding that “allegations of corruption in the supply of smart card readers, ballot papers, result sheets and other election materials directly undermine Nigerians’ right to participate in elections that are free, fair, transparent, and credible.”

The suit was filed on behalf of SERAP by its lawyers, Kolawole Oluwadare, Kehinde Oyewumi and Andrew Nwankwo. Parts of the filing read:

“These grim allegations by the Auditor-General suggest a grave violation of the public trust, the Nigerian Constitution 1999 [as amended] and international anticorruption standards.”

SERAP cited the Auditor-General’s 2022 audited report, which alleged that INEC “irregularly paid” over ₦5.3 billion (₦5,312,238,499.39) to a contractor for the supply of smart card readers for the 2019 general elections.

According to the report, the contract was awarded without approval from the Bureau of Public Procurement (BPP) and the Federal Executive Council, while the payment was “made without any document,” with “no evidence of supplies to the commission.”

Although INEC claimed that approval was unnecessary because the procurement fell under national security exemptions, the Auditor-General rejected the explanation as “alien to the Procurement Act,” stating that INEC ought to have obtained a Certificate of No Objection from the BPP. The Auditor-General expressed concern that the funds “may have been diverted” and called for their recovery and remittance to the treasury.

The report further alleged that INEC paid over ₦4.5 billion (₦4,505,220,044.06) to six contractors for ballot papers and result sheets without documentary evidence of supply, advertisement, bid submission, bid evaluation, approvals, or Certificates of No Objection. There was also reportedly no proof of contractors’ eligibility, including tax and pension clearance certificates and BPP registration.

Other allegations cited include the payment of over ₦331 million to contractors under “doubtful circumstances,” contracts awarded and paid for before approval, failure to deduct over ₦2.1 billion in stamp duties between 2018 and 2019, and the non-retirement of over ₦630 million in cash advances granted to INEC officials.

The Auditor-General also queried contracts worth over ₦41 billion for printing ballot papers and result sheets allegedly awarded without due process, as well as the procurement of four Toyota Land Cruisers for over ₦297 million without Federal Executive Council approval. The report noted that market surveys showed the vehicles were not above ₦50 million each in 2019, despite INEC’s claim that it paid ₦74 million per unit.

In all cases, the Auditor-General expressed concern that the funds “may have been diverted” and recommended their recovery and remittance to the treasury.

No hearing date has been fixed for the suit.

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