The Socio-Economic Rights and Accountability Project has filed a lawsuit at the Federal High Court in Abuja to compel the Independent Electoral Commission to investigate allegations that governors elected under the All Progressives Congress diverted approximately ₦800 billion from public allocations to fund political activities for the 2027 general elections.
The lawsuit follows allegations that these governors have been making monthly contributions from their Federation Account Allocation Committee funds into a campaign account reportedly linked to President Bola Tinubu’s re-election bid.
Through the suit, marked FHC/ABJ/CS/1426/2026, the organization is seeking a court order to force the electoral umpire to review compliance with political campaign financing laws and ensure full disclosure of the alleged campaign funds, including the identities of donors and the exact sources of the money.
In a statement released on Sunday by its Deputy Director, Kolawole Oluwadare, the organization explained that its legal action became necessary after the electoral body failed to look into the reports of public fund diversion, which originally surfaced in media reports and a published opinion piece.
The group argued that the electoral umpire has a constitutional and statutory responsibility to exercise its investigative and regulatory powers whenever the potential misuse of public funds for political purposes is exposed.
The civil society group emphasized that the misuse of state resources for campaign activities threatens the core of the democratic process.
In its court filings, the organization warned that “opaque campaign financing encourages corruption and weakens public confidence in democratic institutions.” The group further maintained that the electoral body is legally empowered to regulate political donations and enforce funding limits, urging the court to intervene “in the interest of transparency, accountability and the credibility of the 2027 general elections.”
