President Muhammadu Buhari
SERAP
President Muhammadu Buhari
SERAP Asks Buhari, Governors to Disclose spending on
‘security votes’
Socio-Economic Rights and Accountability Project (SERAP) has
sent Freedom of Information requests to President Muhammadu Buhari
and the 36 state governors in Nigeria requesting them to use their
“good offices and leadership positions to urgently provide
information on specific details of spending of appropriated public
funds as security votes between 2011 and 2019.”
In the separate requests sent to Mr Buhari and the governors,
SERAP said: “Given the current security realities in the country,
we need the information to determine if public funds meant to
provide security and ensure respect and protection of the rights to
life, physical integrity, and liberty of Nigerians have been spent
for this purpose. Our request is limited to details of visible,
specific security measures and projects executed and does not
include spending on intelligence operations.”
In the FOI requests dated 12 April 2019 and signed by SERAP
deputy director Kolawole Oluwadare, the organization said:
“’Section 14(2)(b) of the 1999 Nigerian Constitution (as amended)
provides that the security and welfare of the people shall be the
primary purpose of government.’ It is the security of the citizens
that is intended and not the security of select individuals in
public office. SERAP believes that transparency and accountability
in the spending of security votes are critically important to fully
implement this responsibility imposed on both the federal and state
governments.”
SERAP said: “We are concerned that rather than serving the
citizens, the appropriation of public funds as security votes over
the years would seem to serve high-ranking government officials at
all levels—federal and states. We are also concerned that the
practice of security votes entrusts discretionary powers to spend
huge public funds on certain elected public officials who may not
have any idea of operational issues on security matters.”
The requests read in part: “SERAP urges you to open-up on the
matter and provide information and documents as requested. This
will be one step in the right direction.Unless the information is
urgently provided, Nigerians would continue to see the
appropriation of public funds as security votes and the
institutionalization of this cash in ‘Ghana Must Go bags’ practice
as a tool for self-enrichment.”
“We would be grateful if the requested information is provided
to us within 7 days of the receipt and/or publication of this
letter. If we have not heard from you by then, the Registered
Trustees of SERAP shall take all appropriate legal action under the
Freedom of Information Act to compel you to comply with our
request.”
“The most general purpose of State power is to provide security
for citizens and other residents and to enable them lead a life
that is meaningful to them. However, the growing level of
insecurity, violence, kidnappings and killings in Zamfara State and
other parts of Nigeria suggest that successive governments—at both
federal and state levels—have been unwilling or unable to
satisfactorily implement this fundamental constitutional
commitment.”
“SERAP believes that there is a strong link between corruption
and insecurity, violence, kidnappings and killings in several parts
of the country. Available evidence would seem to suggest that many
of the tiers of government in Nigeria have used security votes as a
conduit for grand corruption rather than spending the funds to
improve and enhance national security and ensure full protection of
Nigerians’ rights to life, physical integrity, and liberty. In
fact, former governor of Kano State Musa Kwankwaso once described
security votes as ‘another way of stealing public funds’.”
“The huge financial resources budgeted for ‘security votes’ by
successive governments—at both federal and state levels–have not
matched the security realities, especially given the level of
insecurity, violence, kidnappings and killings in many parts of the
country. The current security realities in the country would seem
to suggest massive political use, mismanagement or stealing of
security votes by many governments.”
“SERAP believes that the Federal government and state
governments ought to push for transparency and accountability in
the spending of security votes both at the federal and state
levels, if any such funds are to be properly spent to promote and
ensure sustainable peace and security for the people of
Nigeria.”
“SERAP believes that by providing the information, your
government would help put an end to any insinuation that security
votes are spent on political activities, mismanaged or stolen. This
would in turn contribute to better opportunities for citizens to
assess the level of spending and commitment of successive
governments to ensuring the security of lives and property of the
people.”
“Democratic societies function best with a high level of trust.
Corruption, opacity and lack of accountability undermine that
trust, and thus undermine the very foundation of democracies.”
“We note that the obligation to provide security and protect
people’s rights to life, physical integrity, and liberty ought to
be a shared responsibility of the federal and state governments,
and not just for the federal government, as state governors also
appropriate huge public funds each year as security votes. Many
governors reportedly hide the security votes in their budgets as
the funds are not expressly stated in their appropriation
acts.”
“By Sections 2(3)(d)(V) & (4) of the FOI Act, there is a
binding legal duty to ensure that details of spending on specific
security measures and projects are widely disseminated and made
readily available to members of the public through various means,
including on a dedicated website. The information being requested
does not come within the purview of the types of information
exempted from disclosure by the provisions of the FOI Act.”
“As revealed by a 2018 report by Transparency International
(TI), most of the funds appropriated as security votes are spent on
political activities, mismanaged or simply stolen. It is estimated
that security votes add up to over N241.2 billion every year. On
top of appropriated security votes, governments also receive
millions of dollars yearly as international security
assistance.”
“According to TI, security vote spending exceeds 70 percent of
the annual budget of the Nigeria Police Force, more than the
Nigerian Army’s annual budget, and more than the Nigerian Navy and
Nigerian Air Force’s annual budget combined.”
SERAP therefore urged Mr Buhari and the governors to:
Disclose including by publishing on a dedicated website, details
of spending of public funds appropriated as security votes between
2011 to date, and specific security measures and projects on which
such funds have been spent
Urgently put in place concrete measures to end the patently
unconstitutional, illegal and widespread appropriation of public
funds as security votes
Establish Joint Security Trust Funds between the federal
government and the 36 state governments with strong legal
framework, oversight and auditing mechanisms, as a permanent
replacement for the illegal and unconstitutional appropriation of
public funds as security votes.
Kolawole Oluwadare
SERAP Deputy Director
Lagos, Nigeria