SERAP drags FG to ECOWAS Court over N78.8bn cash transfer scandal

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 cash-transfer and social protection programmes. The organisation 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).

According to SERAP, the issues were documented in the Auditor-General of the Federation’s 2024 Annual Report, published on August 7, 2026, covering various periods between January 2023 and December 31, 2024. In the suit, numbered ECW/CCJ/APP/42/26 and filed last week, SERAP is asking the court to declare that the government’s alleged failure to account for the funds allocated to federal cash-transfer and social protection programmes 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, including payment records, beneficiary details, verification documents and financial reconciliation records. SERAP further wants the court to order an independent investigation into the alleged irregularities, the recovery of any public funds found to have been improperly spent or diverted, and appropriate legal or administrative action against anyone found responsible, subject to due process.

According to the organisation, 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 inadequate records to verify payments and reconcile beneficiary information. The report also identified ₦36.744 billion in payments allegedly made without prepayment audits and ₦4.616 billion in unsupported expenditure.

Other questioned payments included ₦350.182 million for enrolment, ₦89.511 million for store purchases and ₦17.422 million in diesel advances, SERAP said, citing the audit report. The organisation argued that the alleged financial irregularities raised concerns about whether the funds were properly managed and whether intended beneficiaries received the assistance meant to support vulnerable households.

In its application, SERAP maintained that the government’s responsibility to protect human rights extended to the proper management of public resources allocated to social protection programmes. It argued that failures to verify beneficiaries, maintain accurate records, reconcile disbursements, investigate irregularities and recover misused funds could undermine the rights to social security and an adequate standard of living, including access to food, clothing and housing.

“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 said the case was brought in the public interest to protect affected households and promote accountability for public funds allocated to social protection.

The organisation also argued that the alleged failures could affect millions of Nigerians who depend on cash-transfer programmes to meet basic needs, particularly people living in poverty. The suit was filed on behalf of SERAP by its lawyers, Kolawole Oluwadare and Kehinde Oyewumi, under Article 9(4) of the ECOWAS Court Protocol. SERAP said it had previously urged President Bola Tinubu and relevant authorities, in a letter dated September 5, 2026, to account for the questioned funds, publish relevant audit records, investigate the expenditure and recover any money found to have been unlawfully spent or diverted.

It also requested payment and beneficiary records, verification documents and explanations regarding missing REMITA records. According to the organisation, the deadline it gave the government to address the audit findings had elapsed without adequate action. SERAP is asking the court to direct the government to strengthen financial accountability, auditing, beneficiary verification and oversight mechanisms to prevent similar irregularities in future cash-transfer and social protection programmes.

It also wants measures put in place to ensure eligible vulnerable individuals and households receive the benefits intended for them and that any established adverse effects on their rights are appropriately addressed. The organisation is relying on provisions of the African Charter on Human and Peoples’ Rights and the United Nations Convention against Corruption in arguing that governments have obligations to protect public resources, ensure transparent financial management and investigate suspected misuse of public funds.

No date has been fixed for the hearing of the suit.