The Socio-Economic Rights and Accountability Project (SERAP) has sued the Federal Government over alleged financial irregularities involving ₦78.8 billion allocated to cash-transfer programmes for vulnerable Nigerians.
The organisation is asking the court to compel the government to investigate the allegations, recover any funds found to have been misused and take appropriate action against those responsible.
The suit follows findings by the Auditor-General, who questioned several expenditures linked to the programme designed to provide financial assistance to vulnerable households across 35 states.
According to SERAP, the programme was intended to benefit more than 3.2 million households. However, the audit findings have raised concerns about the management of the funds and the verification of payments to beneficiaries.
The Auditor-General reportedly questioned ₦33.751bn said to have been transferred to households in 2023, citing inadequate records to verify payments and reconcile beneficiary information.
The report also flagged ₦36.744bn in payments allegedly made without prepayment audits, ₦4.616bn in unsupported expenditures, ₦350.182m spent on enrolment, ₦89.511m on store purchases and ₦17.422m in diesel advances.
SERAP’s lawyers, Kolawole Oluwadare and Kehinde Oyewumi, argued that the government had failed to investigate the allegations, account for the questioned funds and recover any money found to have been unlawfully spent.
The organisation said it had previously called on President Bola Tinubu and relevant authorities to investigate the findings, publish audit records and hold anyone found responsible accountable.
Following the publication of the Auditor-General’s report, SERAP issued a public statement and sent a letter dated September 5, 2026, requesting action. It also sought payment and beneficiary records, verification documents and explanations for missing REMITA records.
SERAP said the deadline it gave the government to respond had expired without adequate action, prompting the legal challenge.
The suit was filed under Article 9(4) of the ECOWAS Court Protocol, alongside provisions of the African Charter on Human and Peoples’ Rights and the United Nations Convention against Corruption.
The organisation is seeking an order directing the government to conduct an independent, prompt and effective investigation, recover any funds found to have been improperly spent, diverted or lost, and take appropriate legal or administrative action against those responsible, subject to due process.
It is also asking the court to direct the government to strengthen financial accountability, beneficiary verification, auditing and oversight mechanisms to prevent a recurrence of the alleged irregularities.
SERAP further wants the court to restrain the government from administering or disbursing cash-transfer and social-protection funds without adequate accountability measures. It is also seeking appropriate remedies for any harm to beneficiaries’ protected rights established during the proceedings.
The organisation maintained that cash-transfer programmes could help tackle extreme poverty but stressed that their effectiveness depended on transparent financial management and proper oversight.
No date has been fixed for the hearing of the suit.
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