SOCIO-ECONOMIC Rights and Accountability Project (SERAP) has urged state governors to account for the spending of public funds in the name of security votes since May 29, 2023, to guarantee and ensure the security of life and property of Nigerians resident in the states.

SERAP also urged the governors to urgently invite the Economic and Financial Crimes Commission (EFCC) and the Independent Corrupt Practices and Other Related Offences Commission (ICPC) to jointly investigate, track and monitor the spending of security votes by the states.

In a Freedom of Information request at the weekend, signed by SERAP’s Deputy Director, Kolawole Oluwadare, the organisation said that in the wake of the Benue massacre and well-documented ongoing cases of insecurity in several states, there had been a legitimate public call for governors to account for how they spend security votes.

SERAP said the escalating insecurity in several states was taking a toll on socially and economically vulnerable Nigerians, driving up extreme poverty, intensifying hunger, and leading to other grave human rights violations.

According to the body, the framers of the Nigerian Constitution 1999 (as amended) never contemplated opaque spending of public funds as security votes.

“Despite the billions of naira yearly budgeted as security votes, many governors are grossly failing to guarantee and ensure the security and welfare of the people in their states, contrary to section 14(2)(b) of the Nigerian Constitution.

“The obligations of state governors to guarantee and ensure the security and welfare of the Nigerian people are interlinked with their responsibility under section 15(5) of the Nigerian Constitution to abolish all corrupt practices and abuse of office.

“The Nigerian Constitution imposes a fundamental obligation on governors to account for and explain to Nigerians how they spend security votes,” SERAP argued.

The body maintained that 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.