Account for Security Vote Spending or Face Court, SERAP Warns Govs

 Chuks Okocha in Abuja

A leading civic group, the Socio-Economic Rights and Accountability Project (SERAP), has asked Nigeria’s 36 state governors to come clean on how they’ve spent security vote funds since taking office on May 29, 2023.

In a Freedom of Information request dated June 28, 2025, SERAP said the public has a right to know how billions of naira allocated for security are being used, especially with rising insecurity across the country.

“In the wake of the Benue massacre and well-documented ongoing cases of insecurity in several states, there is a legitimate public interest for governors to account for how they spend security votes,” the group said.

The request, signed by SERAP’s Deputy Director, Kolawole Oluwadare, also called on governors to allow Nigeria’s anti-graft agencies, the EFCC and ICPC, to investigate and monitor how the funds were disbursed.

Despite large annual budgets under the label of ‘security votes,’ SERAP said many governors have “grossly failed” to improve safety in their states.
 “This is contrary to section 14(2)(b) of the Nigerian Constitution,” the group added.

 SERAP criticised the secrecy surrounding how the funds are spent, warning that it encourages corruption and blocks citizens from holding elected leaders accountable.

The group also reminded governors that they can no longer claim the Freedom of Information Act doesn’t apply to them.

 “The Supreme Court has made it clear that state governors can no longer hide under their unfounded claim that the Freedom of Information Act does not apply to them,” SERAP stated.

The group said it would take legal action against any governor who fails to respond within seven days.

Quoting a World Bank report, SERAP warned that insecurity continues to push millions into extreme poverty, making transparency more urgent than ever.
“The judgment sends a powerful message that state governors can no longer escape accountability for how they spend security votes,” the group added.
“Disclosing details of spending public funds as security votes by your state would serve to engage the Nigerian people in an honest conversation about the security problems in several states and what the governors are doing to respond to them.”

With rising violence and little clarity on how security funds are used, the pressure is now on governors to open up their books, or face legal consequences.