SERAP sues INEC seeking account of ₦126.46bn electoral funds
The Socio-Economic Rights and Accountability Project has sued the Independent National Electoral Commission at the Federal High Court in Abuja, seeking an account of more than ₦126.46 billion appropriated for electoral operations.
The suit, numbered FHC/ABJ/CS/2507/2026, asks the court to compel INEC to disclose how the funds were spent, including payments made, contractors involved and the beneficial owners of companies that received public money.
SERAP says the expenditure covered items including ballot boxes, electoral devices and materials, result sheets, vehicles, accreditation devices, consultancy work and digital archiving.
The organisation says its claims are based on the 2023 report of the Auditor-General of the Federation, published on August 7, 2026.
What SERAP wants the court to order
SERAP is seeking an order of mandamus compelling INEC to provide a detailed financial and documentary account of the spending.
It also wants disclosure of amounts released and paid, payment beneficiaries, contractors and beneficial owners, as well as evidence showing whether goods and services connected to the expenditure were supplied.
SERAP says the Auditor-General’s report raised questions over several transactions.
Among them, SERAP says the Auditor-General reported that INEC “irregularly paid” about ₦112.16 billion for ballot boxes, electoral devices and other materials without competitive bidding or a Bureau of Public Procurement Certificate of No Objection.
IDNN has not independently authenticated the relevant pages of the underlying audit report from the primary record.
The ₦112.16 billion claim therefore remains attributed to SERAP’s account of what the Auditor-General reported.
Lawsuit is not a finding against INEC
The filing of the suit does not establish that INEC stole, diverted or lost the funds.
The court has not ruled on SERAP’s claims.
SERAP is asking the court to compel disclosure and accountability; those requests remain allegations and legal arguments until tested through the judicial process and supporting records.
INEC response remains outstanding
SERAP had earlier given INEC seven days, in a September 12 letter, to account for the ₦126.46 billion.
The organisation later approached the court after saying the commission had not provided the disclosure it sought.
A substantive INEC response to the specific allegations in the current lawsuit had not been located at the last verification point.
That response remains important because the case raises separate questions about appropriation, release, payment and actual delivery.
Those stages are not interchangeable.
The next key developments are INEC’s formal response, authentication of the relevant Auditor-General records and the court’s first substantive action on the suit.
For now, the established position is narrower than the allegations: SERAP has sued INEC seeking an account of more than ₦126.46 billion in electoral expenditure and says its action is based on issues raised in the Auditor-General’s 2023 report.