SERAP drags FG to ECOWAS Court over N78.8bn cash transfer

SERAP is asking the regional court to examine how Nigeria managed money meant for cash transfers and other social-protection programmes. It wants the government to explain the spending, investigate suspected financial irregularities and recover public funds found to have been improperly used. The request focuses on accountability, not automatic proof of theft.

SERAP also wants the government to show whether the money reached intended beneficiaries. It seeks orders requiring officials to produce beneficiary information, payment records, authorisations, verification documents and reconciliation records. It further wants an explanation for missing REMITA records and checks on payments made without prepayment audits.

The organisation is asking the court to determine whether Nigeria met regional and international obligations involving social security, living standards and development. It also wants measures ensuring eligible households are not denied assistance because of weak controls or financial mismanagement. The case does not ask the court to decide criminal guilt from audit queries alone.

The ECOWAS Court is a regional judicial body connected to the Economic Community of West African States. Its role is to apply and interpret relevant regional legal obligations. In this case, SERAP is asking it to assess whether Nigeria protected rights linked to social security, an adequate standard of living and economic and social development.

The court can hear cases concerning alleged breaches of obligations under regional and international human-rights instruments. Such cases can involve a member state’s conduct, including how public programmes affect people’s rights. SERAP’s application is therefore framed around government accountability and protection of vulnerable citizens, rather than a criminal prosecution.

The article identifies the case as ECW/CCJ/APP/42/26. It does not state the court’s complete jurisdictional rules or every category of case it accepts. Here, the requested orders concern financial explanations, investigations, corrective action and evidence that assistance reached intended households.

The case concerns more than N78.8bn allocated to cash-transfer and social-protection programmes for vulnerable Nigerians. The money is linked to financial-management practices between January 2023 and December 2024. Several federal institutions responsible for administering social-protection programmes were involved.

The programmes reportedly covered more than 3.2 million households across 35 states. A major item involved approximately N33.751bn transferred in 2023 to 3,295,207 households across those states. SERAP says adequate records were not produced to authenticate the payments or reconcile them with beneficiary records.

Another major questioned amount was approximately N36.744bn in payments made without prepayment audits. The article does not say that the entire N78.8bn was stolen or that every household missed assistance. Instead, the figures show the scale of money and beneficiaries requiring reliable records, verification and oversight.

The Auditor-General identified weaknesses in financial management involving the National Cash Transfer Office and the National Social Safety Nets Coordinating Office. The concerns covered transactions and practices from January 2023 to December 2024. They mattered because records and checks help show whether public money reached eligible recipients as intended.

For approximately N33.751bn transferred in 2023, adequate records were not produced to authenticate payments or reconcile them with beneficiary records. SERAP also questioned the absence of relevant REMITA records. Another audit finding involved approximately N36.744bn in payments reportedly made without prepayment audits.

A prepayment audit checks whether a proposed payment meets financial rules before money is released. Without that step, transactions may be harder to verify independently. The audit queries do not by themselves prove that all funds were stolen or that officials committed crimes. They identify deficiencies requiring explanation, investigation and corrective action.

Cash-transfer programmes are meant to deliver public support to economically vulnerable households. If officials cannot verify payments, they may be unable to show whether the right people received money, whether amounts were correct or whether funds were properly used. That weakens both public accountability and the protection offered by the programme.

The article highlights transfers of approximately N33.751bn to 3,295,207 households across 35 states. Missing beneficiary, payment and reconciliation records make it difficult to compare transfers with intended recipients. Without prepayment audits, proposed payments also lacked an important check before funds were released.

SERAP warns that eligible households should not be deprived because of financial mismanagement or inadequate controls. The article does not establish that all beneficiaries were denied assistance. It shows instead why the government is being asked to verify delivery, investigate deficiencies and take corrective measures where problems are found.

Beneficiary records identify the people or households meant to receive support. Payment records show what was actually disbursed. Authorisations show that officials approved payments properly, while reconciliation records compare planned beneficiaries and amounts with completed transactions. Together, they help establish whether public money reached the right recipients in the right amounts.

REMITA records provide another transaction trail that can help confirm payments. Prepayment audits work earlier in the process. They test whether proposed payments meet financial rules before money leaves government accounts. The article says approximately N36.744bn was reportedly paid without these checks.

These controls matter because the programmes covered more than 3.2 million households. Missing records can prevent auditors and oversight bodies from identifying discrepancies or confirming proper use of funds. They can also weaken trust and make it harder to correct errors. SERAP is seeking production of the records and explanations for their absence.

Cash-transfer and social-protection programmes are public efforts to provide assistance to economically vulnerable people. In this article, the programmes involved payments to households across 35 states. Their purpose is reflected in the concern that allocated resources should reach the people for whom they were intended, rather than being lost through weak management.

The example is the reported 2023 transfer of approximately N33.751bn to 3,295,207 households. To show that the programme achieved its purpose, authorities need reliable beneficiary records, payment evidence, authorisations and reconciliations. These mechanisms connect public funding with actual assistance received by eligible households.

SERAP argues that government responsibility does not end with creating programmes and allocating money. It also includes safeguarding resources and delivering them properly. The organisation wants the ECOWAS Court to assess Nigeria’s obligations concerning the right to social security, an adequate standard of living and economic and social development.