The Socio-Economic Rights and Accountability Project (SERAP) has filed a lawsuit against the Senate President, Godswill Akpabio, and the Speaker of the House of Representatives, Tajudeen Abbas, over their alleged failure to explain the whereabouts of ₦18.6 billion reportedly allocated for the construction of the National Assembly Service Commission (NASC) office complex.
The suit, marked FHC/ABJ/CS/2457/2025, was filed last week at the Federal High Court in Abuja. Akpabio and Abbas were sued on behalf of all members of the National Assembly, while the NASC was joined as a respondent.
In a statement issued on Sunday by SERAP’s Deputy Director, Kolawole Oluwadare, the organisation said the lawsuit followed “grave allegations” contained in the 2022 annual report of the Auditor-General of the Federation, published on September 9, 2025.
According to SERAP, the Auditor-General’s findings revealed that the NASC paid ₦11.6 billion to “an unknown construction company” on August 11, 2020 for construction of the Commission’s complex within 24 months.
The report also alleged that an additional ₦6.9 billion was later paid to the same contractor on November 29, 2023 for the “conversion of the roof garden to office space,” bringing the total to ₦18.6 billion.
The Auditor-General further noted that the contract was allegedly inflated, awarded without a Bill of Quantity, lacked pricing details, and had no needs assessment, public advertisement, bidding process, contract agreement or quotes from competing bidders.
The report also stated that there was no Federal Executive Council (FEC) approval and no Bureau of Public Procurement (BPP) Certificate of No Objection.
Given these discrepancies, SERAP said the Auditor-General fears that the ₦18.6 billion “may have been diverted, misappropriated or stolen.”
In the suit filed by lawyers Kolawole Oluwadare, Kehinde Oyewumi and Andrew Nwankwo, SERAP is seeking an order of mandamus compelling Akpabio, Abbas and the NASC to account for the full ₦18.6 billion earmarked for the project.
The organisation is also asking the court to order the respondents to publicly disclose the name of the contractor that allegedly received the funds, as well as the assessment reports, bid advertisements, bid submissions, contract documents, Tender Board minutes and FEC approval for the project.
SERAP argued that the alleged diversion constitutes a violation of public trust, the 1999 Constitution and international anti-corruption standards.
“Nigerians have the right to know the whereabouts of the ₦18.6bn and the identities of those who collected the funds,” the organisation said.
The group further noted that granting the reliefs sought would promote transparency, facilitate recovery of any diverted funds and strengthen public confidence in democratic institutions.
