SERAP Takes ₦78.8bn Cash-Transfer Claims to ECOWAS Court

SERAP has sued Nigeria’s federal government over alleged diversion and irregular spending involving ₦78.8bn in social-protection funds.

The organisation filed suit ECW/CCJ/APP/42/26 last week at the ECOWAS Community Court of Justice. It says the case concerns the Federal Government’s alleged failure to account for money allocated to cash-transfer and other social-protection programmes.

SERAP said the allegations involve NASSCO, known as the National Social Safety Nets Coordinating Office, the National Cash Transfer Office, known as NCTO, and the Ministry of Humanitarian Affairs and Poverty Reduction.

The lawsuit was filed on SERAP’s behalf by lawyers Kolawole Oluwadare and Kehinde Oyewumi.

SERAP said the claims rely on the Auditor-General of the Federation's 2024 Annual Report, published on 7 August 2026. It reviewed periods ranging from January 2023 through 31 December 2024.

SERAP said the Auditor-General has a constitutional duty to examine the Federation’s public accounts and report on them, as well as federal offices and agencies, and described the findings as official records submitted to the National Assembly.

SERAP said the report questioned approximately ₦33.751bn reportedly sent in 2023 to more than 3.2 million households across 35 states. The payment and beneficiary records were too weak to verify the transfers and reconcile the records.

The Auditor-General’s report identified ₦36.744bn in payments allegedly made without prepayment audits and ₦4.616bn in expenditures that lacked supporting documentation. SERAP also listed questioned payments for enrolment, store purchases and diesel advances.

The figures describe payments and records questioned in the audit. They do not establish that all of the money was ultimately diverted or improperly spent, and the suit seeks an investigation into those allegations.

SERAP says the money was intended to support more than 3.2 million households across 35 states. It argues that alleged failures in identifying beneficiaries, maintaining payment records and checking expenditure could affect access to assistance for people living in poverty.

The organisation said alleged irregularities could undermine access to food, clothing and housing, as well as rights to social security and an adequate standard of living. It brought the action under Article 9(4) of the ECOWAS Court Protocol.

SERAP said it wants the court to declare that the government’s conduct breaches international human-rights obligations. Its argument links financial controls to whether people who depend on transfers can receive the support intended for them.

The organisation also wants the government to strengthen beneficiary verification, auditing, reconciliation and oversight systems. It asks the court to prevent further administration or disbursement of cash-transfer and social-protection funds without adequate accountability mechanisms.

Before going to court, SERAP wrote to President Bola Tinubu and relevant authorities on 5 September 2026. The letter sought payment and beneficiary records, verification documents, explanations for the questioned expenditure and investigations into the audit findings.

The letter also requested an explanation for missing REMITA records. SERAP says the deadline it gave the government passed without adequate action.

The lawsuit asks for a comprehensive and verifiable account of the funds. SERAP says that account should include payment records, beneficiary details, verification documents and financial reconciliation records.

The organisation said it also seeks an independent investigation and the recovery of any public money found to have been improperly spent or diverted. It wants anyone found responsible to face legal or administrative measures, subject to due process.

1. 7 August 2026Audit published

   The Auditor-General of the Federation’s 2024 Annual Report documents the findings.

2. 5 September 2026SERAP sends letter

   The organisation requests records, explanations, investigations and recovery of questioned funds.

3. Last weekSuit filed

   SERAP files ECW/CCJ/APP/42/26 at the ECOWAS Community Court of Justice.

4. No date fixedHearing pending

   The court has not set a hearing date.

The sources agree that SERAP filed the case at the ECOWAS Community Court of Justice. Premium Times reports that the filing was at the court in Abuja, while Punch and Vanguard do not specify a location.

The government’s response to the lawsuit has not been reported. It is also not known from the available information whether the court has registered or otherwise acted on the case beyond its filing.

No hearing date has been fixed, so the court’s next procedural step remains unknown.