Falana to EFCC: Prosecute Officials Over ‘Missing’ N33.75bn Cash Transfers

Human rights lawyer and Senior Advocate of Nigeria, Femi Falana, has called on the Economic and Financial Crimes Commission to investigate the alleged diversion of N33.75bn meant for cash transfers to poor and vulnerable Nigerians.

Falana, in a statement issued on Sunday, urged the anti-graft agency to work with the Auditor-General for the Federation to recover the money and prosecute public officials found culpable.

The call followed a disclosure by the Auditor-General for the Federation, Shaakaa Chira, that the Federal Government could not provide sufficient evidence to auditors that N33.75bn in cash transfers intended for more than 3.29 million vulnerable households reached genuine beneficiaries.

The disclosure was contained in the Auditor-General’s 2024 Annual Report on Non-Compliance/Internal Control Weaknesses in Ministries, Departments and Agencies of the Federal Government.

Falana said the development raised serious concerns about the management of funds intended to alleviate poverty and support vulnerable Nigerians.

He said, “The Economic and Financial Crimes Commission should liaise with the Auditor-General of the Federation with a view to recovering the missing N33.75 billion. Furthermore, the EFCC should embark on an immediate investigation of the serious allegation of the criminal diversion of the sum of N33.75 billion in cash transfers earmarked for poor and vulnerable people in the country. All the characters involved in the shameful conduct should be arrested and prosecuted without any delay.”

The lawyer noted that the National Social Investment Programme Agency was established as a statutory agency under the National Social Investment Programme Agency Act 2022, enacted during the administration of former President Muhammadu Buhari.

According to him, the law empowered NSIPA to design social investment programmes, manage beneficiaries’ databases, strengthen payment and accountability systems and collaborate with state governments and development partners.

The Act provides for the implementation of programmes including N-Power, the National Home-Grown School Feeding Programme, National Cash Transfer, National Social Safety-Net, Government Enterprise and Empowerment Programme and the Grant for Vulnerable Groups.

However, Falana alleged that corruption involving some public officials had undermined the management of the programmes.

He recalled that the pioneer Minister of Humanitarian Affairs, Disaster Management and Social Development, Sadiya Farouq, was investigated by the EFCC over alleged money laundering involving more than N37.1bn.

He further recalled that in April 2026, a Federal Capital Territory High Court issued an arrest warrant against Farouq and her former Permanent Secretary, Bashir Alkali, following their repeated failure to appear for arraignment.