The Socio-Economic Rights and Accountability Project (SERAP) has taken the Federal Government to the ECOWAS Community Court of Justice over alleged diversion, irregular spending and failure to account for N78.8 billion meant for cash-transfer and social-protection programmes.
In a statement issued on Sunday by its Deputy Director, Kolawole Oluwadare, SERAP said the issues involve the Ministry of Humanitarian Affairs and Poverty Reduction, the National Cash Transfer Office (NCTO) and the National Social Safety Nets Coordinating Office (NASSCO).
The claims stem from the Auditor-General of the Federation’s 2024 Annual Report, released on August 7, 2026, which covers periods from January 2023 to December 31, 2024.
The suit, numbered ECW/CCJ/APP/42/26 and filed last week by lawyers Kolawole Oluwadare and Kehinde Oyewumi, seeks a declaration that the government’s failure to account for the funds breaches Nigeria’s international human rights obligations.
SERAP also wants the court to compel the government to fully account for the questioned amounts, investigate the reported irregularities, recover any improperly spent or diverted money where proven, and improve financial oversight of social-protection schemes.
The group argued that the alleged lapses risk undermining the rights of vulnerable Nigerians to social security and an adequate standard of living, including access to food, clothing and housing.
The funds were intended to support more than 3.2 million households across 35 states.
According to SERAP, the Auditor-General raised concerns about about N33.751 billion reportedly transferred to those households in 2023, citing insufficient records to verify payments or reconcile beneficiary lists.
The report further flagged N36.744 billion in payments made without prepayment audits, N4.616 billion in unsupported expenditures, N350.182 million linked to enrolment, N89.511 million for store purchases and N17.422 million in diesel advances.
SERAP said it brought the case under Article 9(4) of the ECOWAS Court Protocol to safeguard affected households and promote accountability for public money allocated for social protection.
It maintained that simply creating a cash-transfer programme is not enough if the state fails to keep proper systems for identifying beneficiaries, maintaining records, reconciling payments, monitoring spending, investigating problems and correcting losses.
The organisation noted that it had earlier written to President Bola Tinubu on September 5, 2026, urging action on the Auditor-General’s findings, including publication of records and recovery of any misused funds.
It said the deadline it gave elapsed without satisfactory response.SERAP is asking the court to order an independent, prompt and effective investigation into the irregularities; recovery of any public funds found to have been improperly spent, diverted or lost; and appropriate legal or administrative steps against those responsible, in line with due process.
It also seeks stronger accountability, verification, auditing and oversight mechanisms to stop similar problems and ensure eligible households receive the intended support, plus an order restraining the government from running or disbursing such funds without adequate safeguards.No date has yet been fixed for the hearing.
Click to signup for FREE news updates, latest information and hottest gists everyday
Advertise on NigerianEye.com to reach thousands of our daily users
No comments
Post a Comment
Kindly drop a comment below.
(Comments are moderated. Clean comments will be approved immediately)
Advert Enquires - Reach out to us at NigerianEye@gmail.com