By Opeyemi Adelakun
The Socio-Economic Rights and Accountability Project (SERAP) has dragged the Federal Government before the ECOWAS Community Court of Justice over alleged financial irregularities involving N78.8bn allocated to cash-transfer and social-protection programmes.
The organisation said the suit seeks to compel the government to account for the questioned funds, investigate the alleged irregularities and recover any money established to have been improperly spent or diverted.
In a statement issued on Sunday by its Deputy Director, Kolawole Oluwadare, SERAP said the allegations were documented in the Auditor-General of the Federation’s 2024 Annual Report, published on August 7, 2026.
The suit, marked ECW/CCJ/APP/42/26, was filed last week against the Federal Government over alleged failures involving the Ministry of Humanitarian Affairs and Poverty Reduction, the National Cash Transfer Office and the National Social Safety Nets Coordinating Office.
According to SERAP, the questioned expenditure relates to different periods between January 2023 and December 31, 2024.
The organisation is seeking a declaration that the government’s alleged failure to account for the funds and investigate the findings violates Nigeria’s international human rights obligations.
It also wants the court to direct an independent investigation, the recovery of funds found to have been improperly spent or diverted, and appropriate legal or administrative action against anyone found responsible, subject to due process.
“The funds were intended to benefit over 3.2 million households across 35 states, whose access to financial assistance has been affected by the allegations made by the Auditor-General,” the statement said.
How the N78.8bn was questioned
SERAP said the Auditor-General’s report identified approximately N33.751bn reportedly transferred to more than 3.2 million households across 35 states in 2023, for which adequate records to verify payments and reconcile beneficiary details were allegedly not provided.
The report also questioned N36.744bn in payments allegedly made without prepayment audits, N4.616bn in unsupported expenditure, N350.182m for enrolment, N89.511m for store purchases and N17.422m in diesel advances.
SERAP argued that the government had a responsibility to ensure that funds allocated to vulnerable households were properly managed and that documented irregularities were investigated.
“The failure to investigate the N78.8 billion cash-transfer scandal, account for the questioned funds and recover any unlawfully spent amounts violates Nigeria’s obligations to protect the human rights of vulnerable households,” the suit stated.
The organisation said cash-transfer programmes could help reduce extreme poverty and enable vulnerable people to meet basic needs, including access to food, clothing and housing.
However, it maintained that establishing a social-support programme was insufficient without effective systems for identifying beneficiaries, maintaining records, reconciling payments, monitoring expenditure and addressing losses.
SERAP is also asking the court to order the government to strengthen financial controls, beneficiary verification, auditing and oversight mechanisms to prevent a recurrence.
SERAP cites human rights obligations
The organisation said its case was brought under Article 9(4) of the ECOWAS Court Protocol. It also cited Articles 1 and 2 of the African Charter on Human and Peoples’ Rights, Article 21 of the charter and Article 9 of the United Nations Convention against Corruption.
According to SERAP, these provisions support its argument that governments must protect public resources, promote transparent financial management and take effective action against corruption and the misuse of public funds.
The organisation said it had previously written to President Bola Tinubu and relevant authorities, asking them to account for the questioned funds, publish audit records, investigate the alleged irregularities and recover any money found to have been unlawfully spent.
It added that it sent a letter dated September 5, 2026, requesting payment and beneficiary records, verification documents and explanations for missing REMITA records.
SERAP said the deadline it gave the government to address the Auditor-General’s findings had expired without adequate action.
The organisation further argued that the alleged failure to investigate the findings could affect vulnerable households whose access to financial assistance depended on the programmes.
It is asking the court to order appropriate remedies for any adverse effects on beneficiaries’ protected rights and to restrain the government from administering or disbursing cash-transfer funds without adequate accountability measures.
The allegations have not been established as a judicial finding of wrongdoing. The case is intended to seek accountability and remedial action over the audit findings.
No date has been fixed for the hearing.
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