The Socio-Economic Rights and Accountability Project (SERAP) has sued the Federal Government at the ECOWAS Community Court of Justice over about ₦78.8 billion in cash-transfer and social-protection funds queried by the Auditor-General of the Federation, as Transparency International Nigeria questions how the new ₦50,000 National Emergency Relief and Stabilisation Intervention (NERSI) is being funded.
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Key Highlights
- SERAP has filed suit ECW/CCJ/APP/42/26 at the ECOWAS Court over about ₦78.8 billion in cash-transfer and social-protection funds.
- The suit targets the Ministry of Humanitarian Affairs and Poverty Reduction, the National Cash Transfer Office (NCTO) and the National Social Safety Nets Coordinating Office (NASSCO).
- The Auditor-General’s 2024 report questioned about ₦33.75 billion paid to households in 2023 that could not be verified with payment records.
- No hearing date has been fixed.
- Transparency International Nigeria’s Auwal Musa Rafsanjani says the ₦50,000 NERSI payments lack transparency and appropriation, and links their timing to the 2027 elections.
- The humanitarian ministry has not publicly responded to the criticisms.
What SERAP wants the ECOWAS Court to do
In the suit, filed in Abuja in late October by its lawyers Kolawole Oluwadare and Kehinde Oyewumi, SERAP is asking the court to declare that the government’s failure to account for the funds is unlawful and breaches Nigeria’s international human rights obligations.
The organisation wants the court to order the government and the agencies involved to give a full account of the questioned funds, including payment records, beneficiary details and reconciliation documents. It is also asking for an independent investigation, recovery of any money found to have been improperly spent or diverted, action against those responsible, and stronger auditing and beneficiary verification for cash-transfer programmes.
SERAP is relying on the African Charter on Human and Peoples’ Rights and the United Nations Convention against Corruption. No date has been fixed for hearing.
What the Auditor-General found
The case is built on the Auditor-General of the Federation’s 2024 annual report, published in August 2026, which covers January 2023 to December 2024. According to SERAP, the report raised questions over about ₦76.24 billion linked to the NCTO and ₦2.55 billion linked to NASSCO.
Among the findings cited, about ₦33.75 billion paid to households in 2023 was queried because records needed to verify the payments and reconcile the beneficiaries, including REMITA statements, were not provided. The report also flagged about ₦36.74 billion in payments made without pre-payment audits and about ₦4.62 billion in unsupported spending. The funds were meant for more than 3.2 million households across 35 states.
SERAP first wrote to President Bola Tinubu on 5 September 2026, asking him to direct the ministry, the NCTO and NASSCO to account for the funds and publish the records, and warned that it would go to the ECOWAS Court if nothing was done.
Transparency International questions NERSI funding
Separately, the Head of Transparency International Nigeria, Auwal Musa Rafsanjani, has questioned the timing and funding of the ₦50,000 NERSI relief, which the Federal Government announced on 30 October 2026.
Rafsanjani asked why the payments did not begin three and a half years ago, when Nigerians first felt the hardship that followed the government’s economic reforms. “But because an election is coming now, it is being used to solicit Nigerians’ support,” he said.
He also questioned where the money is coming from. “Any money that you spend, according to our law, must be appropriated by the National Assembly,” he said, adding that he had not seen a law authorising the payments. While relief is welcome, he said, “we don’t think N50,000 will address the suffering of Nigerians.”
Economist and financial analyst Godwin Oyedokun described NERSI as a welcome social-protection measure that can ease hardship but cannot cure poverty on its own. He called on the government to disclose the programme’s funding, duration and coverage, ensure transparent beneficiary selection and independent evaluation, and pair the payments with jobs, skills and agricultural support.
Read also:
- SERAP Gives FG Seven-Day Ultimatum Over ₦50,000 NERSI Grant as Beneficiaries Report Payment Failures
- FG Removes ‘One-Off’ Description From ₦50,000 NERSI Grant After FIJ Report
- Scam Alert: Fake ‘FGN Has Selected You’ ₦50,000 NERSI WhatsApp Link Is Spreading
What the government has said
The Ministry of Humanitarian Affairs and Poverty Reduction says NERSI beneficiaries are selected from the National Social Register and verified national identity records, with no application or fee, and are paid through five approved providers: ALAT, MoMo PSB, NairaGram, OPay and Moniepoint. It has not published the programme’s total budget, duration or number of beneficiaries, and has not publicly responded to the criticisms.
Earlier this month, SERAP also gave the ministry seven days, in a Freedom of Information request dated 7 November, to disclose NERSI’s funding, beneficiary selection and contracts with payment providers, and said it would go to court if the ministry did not respond.
The ministry has previously reported that more than 9.1 million households received at least the first ₦25,000 tranche under the Household Prosperity and Empowerment Cash Transfer (HoPE-CT) programme.
What this means for beneficiaries
Neither the ECOWAS case nor SERAP’s request stops current payments. HoPE-CT and NERSI beneficiaries should continue to confirm payments only through their bank or approved payment provider, and should not pay anyone to be added to a list or to release funds. For NERSI enquiries, the official helpline is 0700-022-2222.
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