The Socio-Economic Rights and Accountability Project (SERAP) has sued the Code of Conduct Bureau (CCB) over its failure to investigate allegations that certain lawmakers removed key provisions on electronic transmission of election results from the Electoral Act (Amendment) Bill during plenary sessions. SERAP also alleges that lawmakers and officers of the executive branch unlawfully altered aspects of the tax reform bills, leading to discrepancies between the versions passed and those published in the official gazette. The lawsuit, filed as suit number FHC/ABJ/CS/634/2026 at the Federal High Court in Abuja, seeks a court order compelling the CCB to investigate these actions. SERAP is requesting that any confirmed violations be referred to the Code of Conduct Tribunal for prosecution. The organisation argues that such probes are necessary to uphold the constitutional principle that public office is a public trust. According to SERAP, the Code of Conduct for Public Officers must be enforced to prevent abuse of office and conflict of interest in lawmaking. The suit was filed by SERAP lawyers Kolawole Oluwadare, Kehinde Oyewumi and Andrew Nwankwo. No hearing date has been set.
SERAP is holding the CCB to its constitutional role, not asking for new powers but for existing ones to be used. The fact that a civil society group must sue to trigger an investigation into how tax and election laws were altered speaks volumes about the bureau's inertia. If the CCB continues to ignore credible allegations involving lawmakers and executive officials, its relevance as a watchdog will exist only on paper. For Nigerians, this means laws may be shaped by hidden interests while oversight bodies stay silent.
