FG Sued At ECOWAS Court Over Alleged N78.8bn Cash Transfer Irregularities

The Federal Government has been sued at the ECOWAS Community Court of Justice over alleged irregularities involving N78.8 billion allocated to cash-transfer and social-protection programmes for vulnerable Nigerians.

The suit was filed by the Socio-Economic Rights and Accountability Project (SERAP), which is asking the court to compel the government to account for the funds, investigate alleged breaches and recover any money found to have been improperly spent.

The case concerns funds linked to the Ministry of Humanitarian Affairs and Poverty Reduction, the National Cash Transfer Office and the National Social Safety Nets Coordinating Office.

The allegations were contained in the Auditor-General of the Federation’s 2024 Annual Report, published on August 7, 2026, covering financial activities between January 2023 and December 31, 2024.

SERAP disclosed the development in a statement issued by its Deputy Director, Kolawole Oluwadare, on Sunday.

The organisation said it approached the court after its requests for the government to address the audit findings failed to receive adequate response.

The suit, marked ECW/CCJ/APP/42/26, was filed last week by SERAP’s lawyers, Kolawole Oluwadare and Kehinde Oyewumi.

SERAP is seeking a declaration that the alleged failure to account for the money violates Nigeria’s obligations under international human rights law.

According to SERAP, the money was intended to support over 3.2 million households across 35 states.

“The funds were intended to benefit over 3.2 million households across 35 states, whose access to financial assistance has been affected by the allegations made by the Auditor-General,” the organisation stated.

It argued that any failure to properly manage the funds could affect beneficiaries’ ability to meet basic needs.

“The failure to investigate the N78.8 billion cash-transfer scandal, account for the questioned funds and recover any unlawfully spent amounts violates Nigeria’s obligations to protect the human rights of vulnerable households,” the suit partly read.

SERAP said it filed the case in the public interest to protect affected households and ensure accountability.

The audit report reportedly questioned approximately N33.751 billion said to have been transferred to more than 3.2 million households across 35 states in 2023, with authorities failing to provide sufficient documentation to verify the payments.

SERAP is asking the government to produce payment records, beneficiary details and verification documents.

However, the allegations are yet to be determined by the court, and the filing of the suit does not establish that funds were diverted.

No date has been fixed for hearing.