SERAP Sues President Tinubu Over Alleged N57bn Mismanagement In Humanitarian Ministry

The Socio-Economic Rights and Accountability Project (SERAP) has filed a lawsuit against President Bola Tinubu, accusing his administration of failing to act on serious allegations of missing or misappropriated public funds totaling over N57 billion from the Federal Ministry of Humanitarian Affairs and Poverty Alleviation.

The legal action, filed last Friday at the Federal High Court in Lagos, also names the Attorney General of the Federation, Mr. Lateef Fagbemi, SAN, as a respondent. SERAP has requested the court to compel President Tinubu to direct Fagbemi to work with anti-corruption agencies to investigate the allegations and prosecute anyone found culpable, as documented in the 2021 report from the Office of the Auditor-General of the Federation.

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The lawsuit, filed under case number FHC/L/MISC/876/2024, calls for swift action on the allegations of public funds mismanagement. According to the report, the Ministry failed to account for billions of naira earmarked for critical programs aimed at alleviating poverty, including monthly stipends for the N-Power program and funds for COVID-19 relief initiatives.

In the legal petition, SERAP argues that the “failure to investigate and prosecute those responsible for these gross violations amounts to a breach of public trust, exposing the most vulnerable Nigerians to further suffering.” The group further contends that prosecuting suspected perpetrators and recovering the diverted funds would send a strong message against corruption, which has been a chronic issue within the ministry.

The Auditor-General’s 2021 report highlights numerous discrepancies, including over N54 billion meant to be paid as stipends to N-Power volunteers, which was never disbursed to beneficiaries. The money, according to the report, may have been diverted. Additionally, over N2.6 billion meant for the Home Grown School Feeding Program during the pandemic was reportedly misallocated, while other funds, including N78 million and N39.5 million, were allegedly spent without proper documentation or approval.

“These allegations represent widespread and systemic corruption that not only violates Nigerian laws but also undermines efforts to provide relief to the country’s poorest citizens,” SERAP’s legal team, led by Kolawole Oluwadare and Oluwakemi Agunbiade, stated in the petition.

The case brings into focus the broader issue of corruption in the Nigerian public sector, with the country’s ministries, departments, and agencies (MDAs) frequently implicated in financial mismanagement.

SERAP’s lawsuit emphasizes the constitutional duty of the government to ensure the welfare of its citizens, particularly the most vulnerable, and calls for immediate restitution and justice for those affected by the misappropriation of funds.

The 2021 report further notes that the Ministry had also spent N400 million meant for stipends for independent monitors, without providing adequate records. This pattern of unaccounted-for spending, SERAP argues, reflects a “pattern of impunity” that has left the Nigerian public bearing the brunt of government mismanagement.

SERAP has urged the court to order a full investigation into these allegations and the prosecution of any public officials found complicit.