The Socio-Economic Rights and Accountability Project, SERAP, has sued the Federal Government at the ECOWAS Community Court of Justice over alleged irregularities involving N78.8bn allocated to cash-transfer and social-protection programmes.
SERAP said the allegations, documented in the Auditor-General of the Federation’s 2024 Annual Report published on 7th of August 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 issued on Sunday by its Deputy Director, Kolawole Oluwadare, the organisation said it filed the suit last week, seeking a declaration that the government’s failure to account for the funds violated Nigeria’s international human rights obligations.
The suit, marked ECW/CCJ/APP/42/26, asks the court to order the government to account for the questioned funds, investigate the alleged irregularities, recover any money improperly spent or diverted where established, and strengthen financial oversight of social-protection programmes.
SERAP argued that the alleged irregularities could undermine vulnerable Nigerians’ rights to social security and an adequate standard of living, including access to food, clothing and housing.
“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 statement read.
The suit, filed by SERAP’s lawyers, Kolawole Oluwadare and Kehinde Oyewumi, argued that the government’s failure to investigate the allegations and recover any improperly spent funds violated its obligations to protect vulnerable households.
“The failure to investigate the N78.8 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 suit partly read.
SERAP said it brought the case to protect affected households and ensure accountability for public funds allocated for their benefit.
“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 statement said.
Audit report questions billions in expenditure
SERAP said the Auditor-General questioned approximately N33.751bn reportedly transferred to more than 3.2 million households across 35 states in 2023, noting that adequate records to verify the payments and reconcile beneficiary records were not provided.
The report also identified N36.744bn in payments allegedly made without prepayment audits, N4.616bn in unsupported expenditure, N350.182m for enrolment, N89.511m for store purchases and N17.422m in diesel advances.
The organisation said the suit was brought under Article 9(4) of the ECOWAS Court Protocol and sought to establish whether the government had met its obligations to safeguard resources allocated for social protection.
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“The issue is whether the government has discharged its obligations under applicable human-rights treaties to safeguard resources allocated for social protection, investigate documented financial irregularities, provide effective remedies and ensure that those resources are applied for their intended purposes,” the statement said.
SERAP also cited Articles 1 and 2 of the African Charter on Human and Peoples’ Rights, arguing that the government had a duty to protect rights and prevent failures in social-protection programmes from causing discriminatory exclusion or unequal access to benefits.
It further relied on Article 9 of the United Nations Convention against Corruption and Article 21 of the African Charter in arguing for transparent public financial management, effective investigations and the recovery of public resources where losses or improper expenditure were established.
The organisation said it had previously urged President Bola Tinubu and relevant authorities to account for the questioned funds, publish audit records, investigate irregular expenditure and take appropriate action against those responsible.
After the Auditor-General’s report was published, SERAP issued a public statement and sent a letter dated September 5, 2026, requesting action on the findings. It also sought payment and beneficiary records, verification documents and an explanation for missing REMITA records.
SERAP said the deadline it gave the government to address the findings had elapsed without adequate action.
The organisation also cited legal scholarship on corruption and human rights, including works by legal scholar Kolawole Olaniyan, to support its arguments on public accountability and the impact of corruption on protected rights.
SERAP is asking the court to direct the government to conduct an independent, prompt and effective investigation into the identified irregularities, recover improperly spent, diverted or lost funds where established, and take appropriate legal or administrative action against those found responsible, in accordance with due process.
It is also seeking stronger financial accountability, beneficiary verification, auditing, reconciliation and oversight mechanisms to prevent a recurrence and ensure eligible households receive their intended benefits.
The organisation further wants an order restraining the government from administering or disbursing cash-transfer and social-protection funds without adequate accountability and oversight mechanisms, alongside appropriate remedies for any established adverse effects on beneficiaries’ rights.
No date has been fixed for the hearing.
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