The Socio-Economic Rights and Accountability Project (SERAP) has taken the Federal Government to the ECOWAS Court of Justice over alleged financial irregularities involving N78.8bn allocated to cash-transfer and social-protection programmes.
The organisation is asking the court to compel the government to account for the funds, investigate the reported discrepancies and recover any money found to have been misused or diverted.
In a statement issued on Sunday by its Deputy Director, Kolawole Oluwadare, SERAP said the allegations concern the Ministry of Humanitarian Affairs and Poverty Reduction, the National Cash Transfer Office and the National Social Safety Nets Coordinating Office.
The case is based on findings in the Auditor-General of the Federation’s 2024 annual report, published on August 7, 2026. The report examined expenditure covering periods between January 2023 and December 2024.
According to the audit findings cited by SERAP, about N33.751bn reportedly disbursed to more than 3.2 million households across 35 states could not be adequately verified because the relevant payment and beneficiary records were not provided.
The report also flagged N36.744bn in payments allegedly made without prepayment audits, alongside N4.616bn in expenditures without adequate supporting documents. Other questioned payments included N350.182m for enrolment, N89.511m for store purchases and N17.422m in diesel advances.
SERAP argued that the alleged irregularities could affect vulnerable households that depend on government assistance to meet basic needs, including food, clothing and housing.
The organisation said the government’s responsibility extends beyond establishing cash-transfer programmes to ensuring that funds are properly tracked, beneficiaries are verified and payments are reconciled.
In the suit, filed last week and marked ECW/CCJ/APP/42/26, SERAP is seeking an independent investigation into the reported discrepancies, the recovery of any funds established to have been improperly spent and appropriate action against those found responsible, in line with due process.
It is also asking the court to order stronger financial monitoring and beneficiary-verification systems, as well as safeguards to prevent the disbursement of social-protection funds without adequate oversight.
The group further wants the government to provide payment records, beneficiary verification documents and explanations for missing REMITA records. It said its earlier request for action, including a letter sent on September 5, 2026, had not received an adequate response before its deadline expired.
SERAP cited provisions of the African Charter on Human and Peoples’ Rights and the United Nations Convention against Corruption in support of its argument that public resources intended to protect vulnerable people must be managed transparently and accountably.
The organisation maintains that failure to address the reported financial discrepancies could undermine the rights of households meant to benefit from the programme.
No hearing date has been announced by the ECOWAS Court.
