SERAP Drags Minister of Power, NBET to Court Over Alleged ₦128bn Missing Funds
The Socio-Economic Rights and Accountability Project (SERAP) has filed a lawsuit against the Minister of Power, Adebayo Adelabu, and the Nigerian Bulk Electricity Trading Plc. (NBET), over their alleged failure to account for ₦128 billion reportedly missing or diverted from the Ministry of Power and NBET.
The suit, marked FHC/ABJ/CS/143/2026, was filed last Friday, at the Federal High Court in Abuja, following allegations contained in the Auditor-General of the Federation’s annual report published on September 9, 2025.
SERAP is seeking an order of mandamus compelling the minister and NBET to account for the missing funds and to disclose details of how the money was spent, including dates of disbursement, beneficiaries, contractors, and the public officers who authorised or approved the payments.
The organisation also wants the court to direct the defendants to publish the names, official designations, and offices of all individuals involved in the release of the funds.
According to SERAP, corruption in the power sector continues to undermine electricity supply across the country, contributing to repeated grid collapses, including the first system collapse recorded in 2026, which plunged several parts of Nigeria into darkness.
In its filings, SERAP argued that Nigerians “continue to pay the price for widespread and grand corruption in the power sector”, noting that accountability is essential to restoring public trust and improving access to reliable electricity.
The civil society organisation said granting the reliefs sought would help tackle corruption, curb impunity, and strengthen efforts to provide uninterrupted power supply nationwide.
The suit was filed on behalf of SERAP by its lawyers, Kolawole Oluwadare, Kehinde Oyewumi, and Andrew Nwankwo. The group cited findings in the Auditor-General’s 2022 audited report, which alleged that the Ministry of Power failed to account for over ₦4.4 billion transferred to project accounts for Mambilla, Zungeru, and Kashimbilla power projects.
The report also accused the ministry of paying over ₦95 billion to contractors without supporting documentation or evidence that the projects were executed, as well as other questionable expenditures on foreign travels, consultancy services, and staff advances.
Similarly, NBET was accused of irregular contract awards, unauthorised transfers of billions of naira into unnamed sub-accounts, undocumented payments to power generation companies, and other transactions allegedly carried out without due process or approvals.
SERAP maintained that the allegations amount to grave violations of public trust, the Nigerian Constitution, and international anti-corruption standards, including the United Nations Convention against Corruption.
No date has yet been fixed for the hearing of the suit.
