By Philip Nwosu
The Socio-Economic Rights and Accountability Project (SERAP) has sued the Federal Government at the ECOWAS Community Court of Justice over alleged financial irregularities involving more than ₦78.8 billion allocated to federal cash-transfer and social protection programmes.
The suit follows findings in the Auditor-General of the Federation’s 2024 Annual Report, published on 7 August 2026, which reportedly identified questioned payments and deficiencies in financial documentation involving the Ministry of Humanitarian Affairs and Poverty Reduction, the National Cash Transfer Office (NCTO) and the National Social Safety Nets Coordinating Office (NASSCO).
In the suit, numbered ECW/CCJ/APP/42/26 and filed in Abuja last week, SERAP is asking the court to declare that the government’s failure to account for the funds and take effective corrective measures violates Nigeria’s international human rights obligations.
The organisation is also seeking an order compelling the government to provide a comprehensive account of the questioned funds, investigate the alleged irregularities, recover any money established to have been improperly spent or diverted, and take appropriate action against those found responsible.
According to SERAP, the Auditor-General questioned approximately ₦33.751 billion reportedly transferred to more than 3.2 million households across 35 states in 2023 because adequate records to verify payments and reconcile beneficiary details were not provided.
The report also identified ₦36.744 billion in payments allegedly made without prepayment audits and ₦4.616 billion in expenditures unsupported by adequate documentation.
Other questioned payments included ₦350.182 million for enrolment, ₦89.511 million for store purchases and ₦17.422 million in diesel advances.
SERAP argued that the alleged lapses raised concerns about whether public funds intended to assist vulnerable households were properly managed and whether eligible beneficiaries received the assistance meant for them.
“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,” the organisation said in its court filing.
SERAP maintained that cash-transfer programmes were designed to help tackle extreme poverty and enable vulnerable people to meet basic needs, including food, clothing and housing.
It argued that the failure to maintain adequate beneficiary records, verify payments, reconcile disbursements and investigate financial irregularities could undermine the rights to social security and an adequate standard of living protected under applicable human rights instruments.
The organisation also contended that inadequate administration of social protection programmes could result in the exclusion of eligible beneficiaries and unequal access to financial assistance.
SERAP said it had earlier urged President Bola Tinubu and relevant authorities, in a letter dated 5 September 2026, to account for the questioned funds, publish audit records, investigate the alleged irregularities and recover any money found to have been unlawfully spent or diverted.
It also requested payment and beneficiary records, verification documents and explanations for missing REMITA records.
According to the organisation, the deadline it gave the government to address the audit findings had expired without adequate action.
SERAP said its legal action was intended to protect affected households and ensure accountability for public funds allocated to social protection.
The organisation is relying on provisions of the African Charter on Human and Peoples’ Rights and the United Nations Convention against Corruption, among other legal authorities, in arguing that governments have obligations to safeguard public resources, ensure transparent financial management and provide effective remedies where rights may have been affected.
Among the reliefs sought, SERAP wants the court to direct the Federal Government, through NCTO, NASSCO and other relevant agencies, to provide verifiable payment, beneficiary, verification and reconciliation records relating to the questioned funds.
It is also seeking an order for an independent, prompt and effective investigation into the reported irregularities, as well as the recovery of public funds improperly spent, diverted or lost where established.
The organisation further wants the government to strengthen financial accountability, beneficiary verification, auditing and oversight mechanisms to prevent similar occurrences in future cash-transfer and social protection programmes.
It is asking the court to direct the government to ensure that eligible vulnerable persons and households receive the benefits intended for them and that any established adverse effects on their protected rights are remedied.
The suit was filed on SERAP’s behalf by its lawyers, Kolawole Oluwadare and Kehinde Oyewumi.
No date has been fixed for the hearing of the case.
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