ABUJA, Nigeria – The Socio-Economic Rights and Accountability Project (SERAP) have sued the Federal Government at the ECOWAS Community Court of Justice over alleged irregularities involving ₦78.8 billion allocated to cash transfers and social protection programmes.
SERAP said the allegations, documented in the Auditor-General of the Federation’s 2024 Annual Report published on August 7, 2026, concern the Ministry of Humanitarian Affairs and Poverty Reduction, the National Cash Transfer Office and the National Social Safety Nets Coordinating Office.
In a statement on Sunday, the organisation said its suit, numbered ECW/CCJ/APP/42/26, was filed last week. It is asking the court to declare that the government’s alleged failure to account for the funds violates Nigeria’s international human rights obligations.
SERAP is also seeking orders compelling the government to account for the questioned funds, investigate the alleged irregularities, recover money found to have been improperly spent or diverted, and strengthen oversight of social protection programmes.
According to SERAP, the Auditor-General questioned approximately ₦33.751 billion reportedly transferred to households in 2023, citing inadequate records to verify payments and reconcile beneficiary details.
The report also identified ₦36.744 billion in payments allegedly made without prepayment audits, ₦4.616 billion in unsupported expenditure, ₦350.182 million for enrolment, ₦89.511 million for store purchases and ₦17.422 million in diesel advances.
SERAP argued that the government had a duty to ensure that public funds intended to alleviate poverty were properly managed and that any established financial losses were addressed. “The right to social security cannot be effectively realised merely by establishing a formal cash-transfer programme” without adequate systems for verifying beneficiaries, reconciling payments, monitoring expenditure and investigating irregularities, the organisation said.
Join the conversation