By Ayo Kehinde
The Socio-Economic Rights and Accountability Project (SERAP) has filed a landmark lawsuit against the Code of Conduct Bureau (CCB) over what it described as the Bureau’s failure to investigate allegations that “certain lawmakers improperly removed key sections on electronic transmission of election results from the Electoral Act (Amendment) Bill during plenary, and unlawfully altered some aspects of the tax reform bills.”
The suit, FHC/ABJ/CS/634/2026, filed last week at the Federal High Court, Abuja, seeks “an order of mandamus to direct and compel the CCB to probe the allegations that certain lawmakers and officers of the executive branch unlawfully altered some aspects of the tax reform bills, which resulted in differences between the tax laws passed by lawmakers and the gazetted copy available to the public.”
SERAP is also urging the court to direct the Bureau to refer any substantiated violations to the Code of Conduct Tribunal for prosecution, in order to uphold the constitutional principle that “public office is a public trust.”
The organisation argues that granting the reliefs sought would address “critical concerns relating to conflict of interest, abuse of office, non-disclosure of interests, and reinforce adherence to due process”, and serve as a mechanism to curb the erosion of the Code of Conduct for Public Officers in legislative and executive decision-making.
Filing on behalf of SERAP, lawyers Kolawole Oluwadare, Kehinde Oyewumi, and Andrew Nwankwo emphasised that “public officers are bound by constitutional standards of conduct, and breach of such standards ought to attract constitutional consequences.”
They added that this obligation applies with particular force to officers of the executive branch as well as lawmakers “whose constitutional mandate is to legislate for the peace, order, and good government of the Federation—not to advance personal or sectional interests.”
According to the suit, certain members of the Senate allegedly removed provisions on electronic transmission of election results from the Electoral Act (Amendment) Bill during plenary, despite the majority of senators having voted for inclusion, and did so without any debate on the proposed removal.
Similarly, the National Assembly recently raised concerns over alleged unlawful alterations to the tax reform bills, noting material differences between the versions passed by the legislative chambers and the copies gazetted by the Federal Government.
Sokoto lawmaker, Abdussamad Dasuki, during a matter of privilege, highlighted these discrepancies, asserting that the alterations in the gazetted copies did not receive legislative approval. SERAP contends that such actions, if proven, undermine both the legality and legitimacy of the law-making process and the integrity of the enacted laws.
The organisation referenced multiple constitutional and statutory provisions to reinforce its case. It noted that Paragraph 1 of the Fifth Schedule to the 1999 Constitution (as amended) prohibits public officers from placing themselves in situations where personal interests conflict with official duties, and that Paragraph 19 of the same Schedule defines members of the National Assembly and officers of the executive branch as public officers bound by these provisions.
SERAP further cited Section 15(5) of the Constitution, which obliges public institutions to “abolish all corrupt practices and abuse of power, including in the context of lawmaking.”
In addition, the suit draws on the Code of Conduct for Public Officers, highlighting that paragraph 12 of the Fifth Schedule mandates that any allegation of breach must be made to the CCB, and paragraph 3(e) of the Third Schedule empowers the Bureau to receive complaints, investigate them, and refer substantiated matters to the Code of Conduct Tribunal. Similarly, Sections 3(d) and 16 of the Code of Conduct Bureau and Tribunal Act confirm the Bureau’s authority to receive complaints and refer breaches to the Tribunal as necessary.
SERAP argued that “the processes leading to the passage of the Electoral Act Amendment Bill by the Senate and the signing into law of the Tax Reform bills were allegedly marked by alterations to bill provisions without debate and due process of law, as well as alterations of the passed Tax Reform Bill without the approval of the National Assembly.” The organisation warned that “certain amendments may have been removed or introduced to serve private or political interests rather than the public interest.”
In its legal reasoning, SERAP stressed that “the Code of Conduct for Public Officers is a constitutional imperative designed to ensure probity, accountability and transparency in public life. This means that any credible allegation of breach must be promptly, thoroughly, transparently and effectively investigated by the CCB.”
The organisation further emphasised that “where lawmaking is shaped by abuse of office and conflict of interest, it ceases to be a legitimate exercise of constitutional and fiduciary responsibility and becomes a legal and ethical infraction prohibited under the Code of Conduct for Public Officers.”
Through the suit, SERAP is seeking to compel the CCB to undertake a full investigation into the alleged unlawful removal of provisions from the Electoral Act (Amendment) Bill, examine the alleged alterations to the tax reform bills by lawmakers and executive officers, and refer any confirmed violations to the Code of Conduct Tribunal for prosecution. SERAP insisted that “public officers hold their offices in trust for the people and must not deploy official power for personal or sectional advantage”, underscoring the broader imperative of accountability in public office.
SERAP stated that “granting the reliefs sought would curb the erosion of the Code of Conduct for Public Officers and ensure that public office is exercised for the public good rather than for personal or sectional gain.”
No date has yet been fixed for the hearing of the suit.
