Laments govt institutions’ persistent refusal to obey court judgments
Socio-Economic Rights and Accountability Project (SERAP) has urged the Chairman of the Independent National Electoral Commission (INEC), Prof Joash Amupitan, to account for the missing or diverted N55.9 billion meant for the purchase of smart card readers, ballot papers, result sheets and other election materials for the 2019 general elections.
It also lamented the persistent refusal of government institutions to obey court judgments, especially those secured in the public interest.
SERAP said the grave allegations were documented in the latest yearly report published by the Auditor-General on September 9, 2025.
The organisation also urged Amupitan to disclose the names of the contractors that reportedly collected over N55.9 billion for the purchase of smart card readers, ballot papers, result sheets and other election materials for the 2019 general elections, including details of the directors and shareholders as well as the contractors’ addresses.
SERAP urged him to refer the grave violations of constitutional and international standards to appropriate anti-corruption agencies for prosecution, and to ensure the full recovery of the funds.
In a letter at the weekend signed by its Deputy Director, Kolawole Oluwadare, SERAP said INEC must operate without corruption if it must uphold Nigerians’ right to participation in their own government.
It lamented that allegations of corruption in the supply of smart card readers, ballot papers, result sheets and other election materials directly undermine Nigerians’ right to participate in elections that are credible.
According to SERAP, INEC cannot properly carry out its constitutional and statutory responsibilities to conduct free and fair elections in the country if it continues to fail to uphold the basic principles of transparency, accountability and the rule of law.
“These allegations also constitute abuse of public office and show the urgent need by INEC under your leadership to commit to transparency, accountability, clean governance and the rule of law,” SERAP wrote, explaining that the recently published 2022 audited report by the Auditor General of the Federation (AGF) showed that INEC ‘irregularly paid’ over N5.3 billion to a contractor for the supply of Smart Card Readers for the 2019 general elections.
On the refusal to obey court judgments by government institutions, SERAPsaid such an act undermines democratic values.
Under the contempt of court, disobedience to a court judgment is a serious offence punishable by fines, asset seizure, imprisonment or other sanctions to compel compliance.In essence, ignoring a court order is a direct challenge to the rule of law.
According to Oluwadare, enforcement of judgments lies within the administrative powers of the judiciary, backed by the executive arm through the police, yet many rulings against the government remain unimplemented.
He questioned the swift enforcement of political judgments, while rulings that benefit the public are ignored, describing that as a sad development.
The deputy director said, “The government has no excuse for disobeying court orders”. He warned that prolonged government disobedience to court orders “sets a dangerous precedent that can encourage citizens to disregard the law,” thereby threatening order and stability.
