SERAP Drags FG to ECOWAS Court Over N78.8bn Cash Transfer Funds

By Adedapo Adesanya

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 N78.8 billion allocated to cash-transfer and social-protection programmes.

The suit concerns the Ministry of Humanitarian Affairs and Poverty Reduction, the National Cash Transfer Office (NCTO) and the National Social Safety Nets Coordinating Office (NASSCO).

The allegations are contained in the Auditor-General of the Federation’s 2024 Annual Report, published on August 7, 2026, which identified financial irregularities covering various periods between January 2023 and December 2024.

In suit number ECW/CCJ/APP/42/26, filed last week in Abuja, SERAP is asking the court to declare the Nigerian government’s failure to account for the funds unlawful and a violation of its international human rights obligations.

According to the organisation, the funds were intended to benefit more than 3.2 million households across 35 states.

The Auditor-General reportedly questioned approximately N33.751 billion said to have been transferred to the households in 2023, citing inadequate records to verify payments and reconcile beneficiary details.

The report also identified N36.744 billion in payments made without prepayment audits, N4.616 billion in unsupported expenditures, N350.182 million spent on enrolment, N89.511 million in store purchases and N17.422 million in diesel advances.

SERAP argued that the failure to account for the funds and investigate the reported irregularities undermines the rights of vulnerable Nigerians to social security and an adequate standard of living, including access to food, clothing and housing.

The organisation said the alleged mismanagement of funds could prevent eligible households from receiving the financial assistance intended to meet their basic needs.

In the suit filed by its lawyers, Mr Kolawole Oluwadare and Ms Kehinde Oyewumi, SERAP seeks an order directing the government and relevant agencies to provide a comprehensive account of the questioned funds, including payment records, beneficiary details and reconciliation documents.

It is also asking the court to direct the government to conduct an independent investigation into the alleged irregularities, recover any funds established to have been improperly spent or diverted, and take appropriate legal or administrative action against those responsible.

SERAP further wants the government to strengthen financial accountability, beneficiary verification, auditing and oversight mechanisms to prevent a recurrence.

The organisation said it had written to President Bola Tinubu and relevant authorities on September 5, 2026, urging them to account for the questioned funds, publish audit records, investigate the expenditure and recover any misappropriated amounts.

According to SERAP, the deadline given to the government to address the audit findings elapsed without adequate action.

The organisation is relying on provisions of the African Charter on Human and Peoples’ Rights and the United Nations Convention against Corruption to argue that the government has obligations to protect public resources, investigate financial irregularities and ensure that funds allocated for social protection serve their intended purposes.

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