Reported by: Oahimire Omone Precious | Edited by: Oravbiere Osayomore Promise.
The Socio-Economic Rights and Accountability Project has dragged the Independent National Electoral Commission before the Federal High Court in Abuja over the commission's alleged failure to disclose limits on political contributions and the financial records of political parties ahead of the 2027 general elections. The suit, marked FHC/ABJ/CS/2114/2026, was filed last week and disclosed in a statement issued on Sunday, September 20, 2026, by SERAP's Deputy Director, Kolawole Oluwadare. The organisation is asking the court to compel INEC to state whether it has exercised its statutory power under Section 91 of the Electoral Act 2026 to prescribe limits on political donations, and if so, why those limits have not been published and communicated to political parties, candidates, donors and the Nigerian public.
The lawsuit strikes at the heart of a growing concern that Nigeria's electoral process is being quietly captured by moneyed interests while the regulator looks the other way. Section 91(1) of the Electoral Act 2026 empowers INEC to place limitations on the amount of money or other assets an individual can contribute to a political party or candidate, and to demand information on the amount donated and the source of the funds. Section 91(2) provides sanctions for violations, including fines of up to N10 million for political parties and forfeiture of excess amounts, while individuals who exceed the limit are liable to penalties of five times the excess amount donated. These provisions were designed as safeguards against the kind of monetisation that has turned Nigerian elections into auctions where the highest bidder often wins. But if the limits are not prescribed, published or enforced, the law remains a dead letter.
SERAP's lawyers, Oluwakemi Agunbiade, Kehinde Oyewumi, Andrew Nwankwo and Valentina Adegoke, argue that voters, journalists and civil society organisations cannot effectively scrutinise political financing if the applicable limits are not easily accessible or if there is no publicly known mechanism for monitoring compliance. They contend that the increasing monetisation of Nigeria's elections, alongside the potential misuse of state institutions, poses serious threats to democratic integrity and electoral competition. The reliefs sought include an order of mandamus compelling INEC to disclose the systems and procedures in place to monitor, investigate and enforce compliance with prescribed limits on political contributions and campaign expenditure, particularly in preparation for the 2027 general elections. SERAP is also seeking disclosure of political parties' latest financial statements, audited accounts, sources of funds, assets, liabilities and election-expenditure returns for 2023 to 2025, as well as INEC's examination and audit reports under Sections 225 and 226 of the Constitution, including reports submitted to the National Assembly.
The constitutional dimension of the case is significant. Section 225 of the 1999 Constitution requires INEC to examine the accounts and audited reports of political parties and publish them. Section 226 empowers the commission to conduct investigations into the finances of political parties and report to the National Assembly. SERAP's argument is that INEC's responsibility does not end at receiving financial statements. The commission is constitutionally obligated to scrutinise those statements, investigate discrepancies and make its findings public. Publishing these reports would enable Nigerians to know whether these constitutional and statutory responsibilities have been effectively discharged.
The timing of the lawsuit is critical. Political parties and candidates have already begun raising funds and spending money in preparation for the 2027 elections. Without published contribution limits, there is no clear benchmark against which the public can measure compliance. Without disclosure of party finances, there is no way to trace the sources of campaign funding or to identify potential conflicts of interest. Without enforcement mechanisms, there is no deterrent against those who seek to buy influence through excessive donations. The absence of these safeguards creates fertile ground for corruption, state capture and the erosion of public trust in the electoral process.
SERAP also wants the court to compel INEC to disclose its political-finance monitoring and enforcement arrangements for the 2027 elections, including the parties that submitted post-2023 contribution reports, the dates of submission, and the action taken against parties that failed to comply with statutory reporting requirements. The organisation is further asking INEC to explain the methodology used in determining any contribution limits and how it intends to monitor political financing during the campaign period, including cash and in-kind contributions, digital and social-media advertising, political consultants and third-party campaign expenditure. The reliefs sought would enable citizens to identify excessive, undisclosed or potentially illicit political financing before the election, rather than only after votes have been cast.
This is not the first time SERAP has taken INEC to court over political financing. In July 2026, the organisation sued the commission over its failure to investigate allegations that governors elected on the platform of the All Progressives Congress diverted N800 billion from the Federation Account Allocation Committee for political and campaign purposes. The current suit builds on that precedent, expanding the scope to include the disclosure of contribution limits and party finances across the board. The pattern suggests a sustained effort by SERAP to force INEC to take its regulatory responsibilities seriously, rather than treating political finance as a matter of private arrangement between parties and their donors.
The broader context is one of increasing anxiety about the integrity of the 2027 elections. Nigeria's elections have long been characterised by vote-buying, excessive campaign spending and the influence of money in politics. The 2023 general elections saw record levels of campaign expenditure, much of it undisclosed and unregulated. If the 2027 elections follow the same pattern, the result will be a further erosion of public confidence in democracy. SERAP's lawsuit is an attempt to prevent that outcome by ensuring that the rules governing political donations are known, applied and enforced. The question now is whether the court will compel INEC to act, or whether the commission will continue to treat the law as optional. For the sake of Nigeria's democracy, the answer must be the former.
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