Wike, Governors Sued to Court Over Billions in Secret Security Votes

The 36 state governors and Nyesom Wike, the Minister of the Federal Capital Territory (FCT), are currently facing a major legal battle over their handling of public funds.

A lawsuit has been filed at the Federal High Court in Abuja, demanding a full account of the billions of naira spent as security votes since the current administration took office on May 29, 2023.

The legal action, initiated by the Socio-Economic Rights and Accountability Project (SERAP), comes amid growing frustration over the worsening security situation in many parts of the country.

Despite the massive sums of money allocated to the FCT and various states for security operations, many Nigerians continue to live in fear due to the rise in violent attacks, kidnappings, and killings.

In the suit numbered FHC/ABJ/CS/95/2026, the court is being asked to compel the governors and the FCT Minister to “publicly disclose details of how security votes collected since May 29, 2023, have been spent.”

The group argued that the high level of secrecy surrounding these funds makes them prone to corruption. It is estimated that over N400 billion is budgeted annually for security votes across Nigeria, with at least 10 governors reportedly earmarking another N140 billion for the same purpose in the 2026 budget year.

Furthermore, SERAP’s Deputy Director, Kolawole Oluwadare, stated that “Nigerians ought to know in what manner public funds, including security votes meant to ensure the security of life and property of Nigerians, are spent by the governors and the FCT minister.”

The organization maintained that the Nigerian Constitution does not support the “opaque spending of public funds” and that the public has a legitimate right to see the implementation reports of projects funded by these votes.

The legal team representing SERAP, including Oluwakemi Agunbiade and Andrew Nwankwo, pointed out that a previous Supreme Court judgment already affirmed that the Freedom of Information Act applies to all public records in the Federation. This includes records held by states regarding security votes.

Still, the suit argues that “the intense secrecy and lack of meaningful oversight of the spending of security votes by governors have for many years contributed to large-scale stealing of public funds.”

By taking this to court, the aim is to ensure that security votes are used for their intended purpose rather than being treated as “personal entitlement” by political officeholders.

However, no date has been fixed for the hearing of the suit yet, but the outcome could set a major precedent for fiscal transparency in Nigeria’s governance.