The Socio-Economic Rights and Accountability Project (SERAP) has filed a lawsuit against Senate President Godswill Akpabio and Speaker of the House of Representatives Tajudeen Abbas.
The lawsuit was filed over their alleged failure to account for ₦18.6 billion allocated for the construction of the National Assembly Service Commission (NASC) Office Complex.
The lawsuit, filed last week at the Federal High Court in Abuja (suit number: FHC/ABJ/CS/2457/2025), also names the National Assembly Service Commission as a respondent.
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Akpabio and Abbas are being sued on their own behalf and on behalf of all members of the National Assembly.
SERAP’s legal action follows “grave allegations” detailed in the latest 2022 annual report by the Auditor-General of the Federation*, which was published on September 9, 2025.
The Auditor-General’s report raised concerns that the total ₦18.6 billion budgeted for the NASC complex and the conversion of its roof garden may have been “diverted, misappropriated or stolen,” and demanded that the money be accounted for.
The report specifically cited: a payment of over ₦11.6 billion made on August 11, 2020, to an unknown construction company for the 24-month construction of the complex and a second payment of over ₦6.9 billion made on November 29, 2023, to the same company for the “conversion of the roof garden to office space,” which allegedly inflated the contract**.
Both contracts were reportedly awarded without complying with procurement laws, including the lack of a needs assessment, newspaper advertisements, a bidding process, a contract agreement, bidders’ quotations, or approval from the Federal Executive Council (FEC) and the Bureau of Public Procurement (BPP) Certificate of ‘No Objection’.
The Bill of Quantity (BOQ) for the initial ₦11.6 billion contract was also reportedly unpriced.
SERAP is seeking an order of mandamus from the court to compel the three respondents—Akpabio, Abbas, and the National Assembly Service Commission (NASC)—to take several actions.
The organisation wants them to account for the whereabouts of the missing ₦18.6 billion and disclose the name of the alleged “fictitious construction company” that received the funds.
SERAP is also requesting that they provide all relevant procurement documents, including assessment reports, bid advertisements, contract papers, and the Federal Executive Council’s approval for the project.
READ ALSO: SERAP demands Akpabio, Abbas account for missing N18.6bn NASS complex funds
The rights group argues that the alleged diversion and misappropriation are a “grave violation of the public trust,” the Nigerian Constitution, and international anti-corruption standards, stressing that the public has a right to know the details to build trust in democratic institutions.
No date has been fixed for the hearing of the suit.
