The Socio-Financial Rights and Duty Mission (SERAP) has filed a lawsuit towards the government over “the alleged diversion, abnormal expenditure and failure to account for over ₦78.8 billion in public finances involving the Ministry of Humanitarian Affairs and Poverty Relief, the Nationwide Money Switch Place of business (NCTO) and the Nationwide Social Protection Nets Coordinating Place of business (NASSCO).”
The allegations are documented within the Auditor-Common of the Federation’s 2024 Annual Record, revealed on 7 August 2026. Consistent with the Auditor-Common, the findings quilt more than a few classes between January 2023 and 31 December 2024.
Within the go well with quantity ECW/CCJ/APP/42/26 filed ultimate week on the ECOWAS Group Court docket of Justice, Abuja, SERAP is looking for: “a declaration that the failure of the Nigerian executive to account for over ₦78.8 billion in public finances allotted for federal cash-transfer and social-protection programmes is against the law and a contravention of Nigeria’s world human rights responsibilities.”
SERAP is looking for a declaration that “the federal government’s failure to make sure the lawful management of public finances allotted for cash-transfer programmes supposed to learn prone families undermines the joy of the rights safe beneath the African Constitution on Human and Peoples’ Rights.”
SERAP may be in the hunt for “an order of perpetual injunction restraining the federal government from administering or disbursing cash-transfer and social-protection finances with out ok monetary duty, beneficiary verification, auditing and oversight mechanisms in line with Nigeria’s world human rights responsibilities.”
Within the go well with, SERAP is arguing that “the federal government has violated, and continues to violate, the rights to social safety and an ok way of life, together with meals, clothes and housing, by means of failing to correctly administer social-protection finances and make sure get admission to to advantages supposed to fulfill elementary wishes.”
SERAP may be arguing that “the failure to account for really extensive public finances allotted for social defense, and to analyze and treatment deficiencies, undermines the socio-economic rights of thousands and thousands of affected Nigerians.”
Consistent with SERAP, “The finances have been supposed to learn over 3.2 million families throughout 35 states, whose get admission to to monetary help has been suffering from the allegations made by means of the Auditor-Common.”
The go well with filed on behalf of SERAP by means of its legal professionals, Kolawole Oluwadare and Kehinde Oyewumi, learn partially: “The failure to analyze the ₦78.8 billion cash-transfer scandal, account for the puzzled finances and get well any unlawfully spent quantities violates Nigeria’s responsibilities to offer protection to the human rights of prone families.”
“SERAP brings this public-interest case to offer protection to the pursuits of affected families and make sure duty for public finances allotted for his or her get advantages.”
“SERAP submits that disasters to account for public finances allotted to socio-economic rights, coupled with a failure to take efficient corrective motion, engages the State’s human-rights responsibilities. Money-transfer programmes lend a hand cope with excessive poverty and permit prone other folks to fulfill their elementary wishes.”
“The go well with is determined by the Auditor-Common’s 2024 Annual Record, revealed on 7 August 2026, which known monetary irregularities in federal establishments, together with the Nationwide Money Switch Place of business and the Nationwide Social Protection Nets Coordinating Place of business.”
“The Auditor-Common puzzled roughly ₦33.751 billion reportedly transferred to over 3.2 million families throughout 35 states in 2023, as ok data to make sure the bills and reconcile beneficiary data weren’t supplied.”
“The file additionally known ₦36.744 billion in bills made with out prepayment audits, ₦4.616 billion in unsupported expenditures, and different puzzled bills, together with ₦350.182 million for enrolment, ₦89.511 million for retailer purchases and ₦17.422 million in diesel advances.”
“SERAP brings this public-interest case beneath Article 9(4) of the ECOWAS Court docket Protocol to offer protection to the pursuits of affected families and make sure duty for public finances supposed for social defense.”
“The problem is whether or not the federal government has discharged its responsibilities beneath appropriate human-rights treaties to safeguard sources allotted for social defense, examine documented monetary irregularities, supply efficient treatments and make certain that the ones sources are implemented for his or her supposed functions.”
“The Auditor-Common is constitutionally liable for auditing and reporting upon the general public accounts of the Federation and the workplaces and companies of the Federal Executive. His findings are recorded in annual studies submitted to the Nationwide Meeting and represent vital respectable data relating to public expenditure.”
“The duty to recognise and provides impact to the rights safe beneath the African Constitution, assured by means of Article 1 of the Constitution, come with the duty to undertake legislative or different measures vital to offer impact to safe rights.”
“The fitting to equality and non-discrimination, beneath Article 2 of the African Constitution and the corresponding responsibilities, could be violated the place there are disasters in administering or verifying social-protection programmes which lead to discriminatory exclusion or unequal get admission to to advantages.”
“The Nigerian executive has the duty to take efficient measures to stop and cope with corruption and similar misuse of public sources. The federal government has did not take suitable measures in line with the allegations made by means of the Auditor-Common.”
“The fitting to social safety can’t be successfully realised simply by means of organising a proper cash-transfer programme the place the State fails to handle cheap methods for figuring out beneficiaries, keeping up data, reconciling disbursements, tracking expenditure, investigating irregularities and remedying losses.”
“Following newsletter of the Auditor-Common’s Record, SERAP issued a public observation and, in a letter dated 5 September 2026, suggested President Bola Tinubu and related government to account for the puzzled finances, post audit data, examine abnormal expenditures, get well any finances unlawfully spent or diverted, and take suitable motion towards the ones accountable.”
“SERAP additionally asked cost and beneficiary data, verification paperwork and an cause of the lacking REMITA data.”
“The cut-off date given to the federal government to handle the Auditor-Common’s findings had elapsed with out ok motion.”
“The monetary irregularities and the federal government’s failure to handle them carry human rights considerations, specifically the rights to social safety, an ok way of life, and the appropriate to financial, social and cultural construction.”
“The federal government will have to correctly set up public finances allotted for social defense in response to its human rights responsibilities and take cheap measures to make certain that prone families obtain their supposed advantages.”
“The Auditor-Common’s findings on beneficiary verification, prepayment audits, supporting paperwork and monetary reconciliation carry severe questions on whether or not those finances have been correctly controlled and reached prone families.”
“Articles 1 and 21 of the African Constitution, along Article 9 of the UN Conference towards Corruption, require efficient measures to offer protection to other folks’s rights and sources, make sure that clear public monetary control, examine irregularities and get well public finances the place losses or incorrect expenditure are established.”
“SERAP is determined by Kolawole Olaniyan’s Corruption and Human Rights Legislation in Africa (Hart Publishing, 2014) and Possession of Proceeds of Corruption in World Legislation (Oxford College Press, 2023) as persuasive educational authority at the affect of corruption on human rights, public sources, sufferers’ rights, duty and world prison treatments.”
“Those works fortify rules grounded in appropriate human rights treaties and jurisprudence.”
“SERAP accordingly submits that the Auditor-Common’s findings can’t be handled simply as administrative irregularities the place public finances allotted for social defense can have been misplaced, improperly spent or left unaccounted for, and the federal government fails to take efficient corrective motion.”
“The disasters in public monetary control that impair safe human rights might have interaction the appropriate to an efficient treatment. The federal government’s failure to adequately examine, account for and get well misused finances, and supply suitable treatments, might represent a seamless failure to fulfill its human-rights responsibilities.”
SERAP is subsequently asking the ECOWAS Court docket for the next reliefs:
1. A DECLARATION that the failure to take efficient measures to analyze and treatment the monetary irregularities known within the 2024 Annual Record of the Auditor-Common of the Federation, insofar as the ones disasters impair or possibility impairing get admission to to supposed advantages, violates the Respondent’s world human rights responsibilities.
2. AN ORDER directing the Respondent, during the Nationwide Money Switch Place of business (NCTO), the Nationwide Social Protection Nets Coordinating Place of business (NASSCO) and different related companies, to supply a complete and verifiable account of the puzzled finances, together with related cost, beneficiary, verification and reconciliation data.
3. AN ORDER directing the Respondent to habits an impartial, instructed and efficient investigation into the known irregularities; get well public finances improperly spent, diverted or misplaced the place established; and take suitable prison or administrative motion towards individuals discovered accountable, in response to due procedure.
4. AN ORDER directing the Respondent to fortify monetary duty, beneficiary verification, auditing, reconciliation and oversight mechanisms to stop the recurrence of irregularities in federal cash-transfer and social-protection programmes.
5. AN ORDER directing the Respondent to take efficient measures to make certain that eligible prone individuals and families obtain the social-protection advantages supposed for them and that any established opposed results on their safe rights are correctly remedied.
No date has been fastened for the listening to of the go well with.
Kolawole Oluwadare
SERAP Deputy Director
25/10/2026
Lagos, Nigeria
Emails: [email protected]; [email protected]
Twitter: @SERAPNigeria
Web site: www.serap-nigeria.org
For more info or to request an interview, please touch us on: +2348160537202
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