The Socio-Economic Rights and Accountability Project (SERAP) has sued the Federal Government at the ECOWAS Community Court of Justice over alleged diversion, irregular expenditure and failure to account for more than ₦78.8 billion allocated to federal cash-transfer and social-protection programmes. In a statement published on its website, SERAP said the…...
The Socio-Economic Rights and Accountability Project (SERAP) has sued the Federal Government at the ECOWAS Community Court of Justice over alleged diversion, irregular expenditure and failure to account for more than ₦78.8 billion allocated to federal cash-transfer and social-protection programmes.
In a statement published on its website, SERAP said the allegations involved the Ministry of Humanitarian Affairs and Poverty Reduction, the National Cash Transfer Office (NCTO) and the National Social Safety Nets Coordinating Office (NASSCO), as documented in the Auditor-General of the Federation’s 2024 Annual Report, published on August 7, 2026.
The suit, numbered ECW/CCJ/APP/42/26, was filed last week. SERAP is asking the court to declare that the government’s failure to account for the funds allocated for cash-transfer and social-protection programmes is unlawful and violates Nigeria’s international human rights obligations.
The organisation is also seeking an order directing the government to provide a comprehensive and verifiable account of the questioned funds, investigate the reported irregularities, recover any money established to have been improperly spent or diverted, and take appropriate action against those found responsible.
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SERAP said the alleged financial irregularities could affect vulnerable households meant to benefit from the programmes, adding that the funds were intended to reach more than 3.2 million households across 35 states.
According to the organisation, “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 suit, filed on behalf of SERAP by its lawyers, Kolawole Oluwadare and Kehinde Oyewumi, stated: “The failure to investigate the ₦78.8 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.”
It added: “SERAP brings this public-interest case to protect the interests of affected households and ensure accountability for public funds allocated for their benefit.”
The organisation argued that the alleged failure to account for the funds raises concerns about the rights to social security and an adequate standard of living, including access to food, clothing and housing.
“Cash-transfer programmes help address extreme poverty and enable vulnerable people to meet their basic needs,” the suit stated.
SERAP said the Auditor-General’s report questioned approximately ₦33.751 billion reportedly transferred to more than 3.2 million households across 35 states in 2023, citing a lack of adequate records to verify payments and reconcile beneficiary information.
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The report also identified ₦36.744 billion in payments allegedly made without prepayment audits, ₦4.616 billion in unsupported expenditures, ₦350.182 million for enrolment, ₦89.511 million for store purchases and ₦17.422 million in diesel advances.
SERAP said the findings raised questions about whether the funds were properly managed and whether the intended beneficiaries received the assistance.
“The right to social security cannot be effectively realised merely by establishing a formal cash-transfer programme where the State fails to maintain reasonable systems for identifying beneficiaries, maintaining records, reconciling disbursements, monitoring expenditure, investigating irregularities and remedying losses,” the suit stated.
The organisation also said it had previously written to President Bola Tinubu and relevant authorities on September 5, 2026, urging them to account for the questioned funds, publish audit records, investigate irregular expenditure, recover any funds unlawfully spent or diverted, and take appropriate action against those responsible.
It said it had also requested payment and beneficiary records, verification documents and an explanation for missing REMITA records, but the deadline given to the government to address the findings had elapsed without adequate action.
SERAP is asking the ECOWAS Court to direct the government, through NCTO, NASSCO and other relevant agencies, to provide records relating to payments, beneficiaries, verification and financial reconciliation.
It is also seeking orders for an independent investigation into the identified irregularities, recovery of public funds where improper expenditure or diversion is established, and appropriate legal or administrative action against persons found responsible, in accordance with due process.
The organisation further wants the government to strengthen financial accountability, beneficiary verification, auditing and oversight mechanisms to prevent a recurrence, while ensuring that eligible vulnerable households receive their intended benefits.
SERAP said its case relies on Nigeria’s obligations under applicable human rights treaties, including the African Charter on Human and Peoples’ Rights, and provisions concerning transparent public financial management and the protection of public resources.
The organisation is seeking a declaration that failure to investigate and remedy the financial irregularities identified in the Auditor-General’s report, where those failures impair or risk impairing access to intended benefits, violates Nigeria’s international human rights obligations.
No date has been fixed for the hearing of the suit.