Socio-Economic Rights and Accountability Project, SERAP, has filed a lawsuit seeking the federal government to disclose details of allocations, disbursement and spending of security votes.
The suit also affects the governors of the states of the federation and the 774 local governments in the country between 1999 and 2019.
The suit was filed at the Federal High Court, Abuja.
Specifically, the suit seeks the leave to apply for judicial review and an order of mandamus to direct and compel President Muhammadu Buhari, Senate president Ahmed Lawan, and Speaker of the House of Representatives, Femi Gbajabiamila to make the disclosure.
Joined in the suit too are the Governor of the Central Bank of Nigeria, Mr Godwin Emefiele; Accountant General of the Federation, Mr Ahmed Idris, and Auditor General for the Federation, Mr Anthony Ayine.
The suit was filed by SERAP’s lawyers, Kolawole Oluwadare and Opeyemi Owolabi, on Friday, stressing that Nigerians had the constitutional and international human right to know details of the exact amounts that had been spent as security votes and specific areas and projects covered by the allocations, disbursement and spending.
According to SERAP, the suit followed the failure of the respondents “to account for some N241.2 billion of public funds allocated, disbursed and spent yearly as security votes, and the corresponding lack of effective protection of the rights to security and welfare, life and physical integrity of millions of Nigerians.”
“There is overriding public interest in Nigerians having access to these details, and the respondents have legal obligations to facilitate public access to such information,” SERAP stated.
The suit reads in part: “The respondents have a legal duty to proactively record, keep and disclose information in respect of allocation, disbursement and spending of security votes without waiting for SERAP to request for such information. They are also required to maintain and publish documents containing information relating to the receipt or expenditure of public funds.
“Public officials receiving and spending security votes ought to come clean with Nigerians on how exactly these public funds are spent. Unless the reliefs sought are granted, Nigerians would continue to see the appropriation of public funds as security votes as a tool for self-enrichment.
“The suit is seeking to offer governments at all levels an important opportunity to be transparent and accountable with the exercise of their discretionary powers in the allocation, disbursement and spending of security votes. The public interest in the disclosure of these details outweighs any private interest the respondents may be seeking to protect.”
It reads further: “The right to know allows Nigerians to gain access to information essential to the fight against corruption, which is entirely consistent with the government’s own anti-corruption strategy to encourage citizens’ involvement in the fight against corruption. Access to information on details of security votes will ultimately foster security, sustainable peace, and development of democratic institutions across the country.
“Public officers are mere custodians of public records. The citizens are entitled to know how their commonwealth is being utilized, managed and administered in a democratic setting, as this positively influences the feeling of belonging in the society.
“The huge financial resources budgeted for security votes by successive governments have not matched the security realities in the country, especially given the level of insecurity, violence, kidnappings and killings in many parts of the country, which seem to suggest massive political use, mismanagement or stealing of security votes by many governments.
“As revealed by a 2018 report by Transparency International (TI), most of the funds appropriated as security votes are spent on political activities, mismanaged or simply stolen. It is estimated that security votes add up to over N241.2 billion every year. On top of appropriated security votes, governments also receive millions of dollars yearly as international security assistance.”
