Falana Calls in EFCC Over Missing N33.75bn Cash Transfers, Demands Immediate Arrest of Corrupt Officials

Human rights lawyer and Senior Advocate of Nigeria, Femi Falana, has called on the Economic and Financial Crimes Commission (EFCC) to track down and recover ₦33.75 billion in cash transfers earmarked for vulnerable citizens, demanding the immediate prosecution of public officials involved in the suspected diversion.

The legal luminary’s demand follows an exposé by the Auditor-General for the Federation, Shaakaa Kanyitor Chira, whose annual audit report on internal control weaknesses across ministries, departments, and agencies revealed that the government could not substantiate claims that the billions reached their targets. According to the audit findings, the astronomical sum was supposedly dispersed to cushion severe economic distress across more than 3.29 million vulnerable households under the National Social Investment Programme, yet official paper trails and proof of disbursement to real citizens remain conspicuously absent.

Reacting to the findings, Falana, who serves as the Chairman of the Alliance on Surviving COVID-19 and Beyond (ASCAB), warned that turning poverty relief funds into a feast for public officers is a criminal betrayal of the nation’s destitute. He insisted that the anti-graft agency must liaise directly with the Auditor-General’s office to initiate a forensic probe and recover the missing funds into the national treasury without compromise.

The senior lawyer noted that the latest revelation exposes deep-seated rot inside the National Social Investment Programme Agency (NSIPA), which was created by law to design and manage transparent safety nets for impoverished Nigerians. Falana observed that despite widely publicized safeguards—including mandatory linking of recipient databases to Bank Verification Numbers (BVN) and National Identity Numbers (NIN) to weed out phantom beneficiaries—monumental sums continue to vanish into thin air.

Falana drew attention to the litany of unresolved corruption scandals that have long crippled the humanitarian ministry. He recalled the protracted investigation into former minister Sadiya Umar Farouq over the alleged laundering of over ₦37.1 billion, as well as the high-profile suspension of her successor, Betta Edu, following a leaked memo directing the payment of ₦585 million in public grant funds into an individual’s private bank account. He added that former NSIPA national coordinator Halima Shehu was similarly suspended and interrogated over suspicious movements of public funds, urging the EFCC to conclude all pending inquiries and make its verdicts public.

The human rights advocate sounded a warning regarding the $3.05 billion development and poverty alleviation programme backed by the World Bank. Falana warned that multilateral development partners may freeze or withdraw credit facilities if the government proves incapable of protecting humanitarian funds from bureaucratic looters.

To restore public confidence and avert further embarrassment, Falana urged the administration to establish an independent oversight council consisting of credible civil society organizations to directly supervise all future cash distribution networks, declaring that the time has come to stop politicians from profiting off the backs of the country’s most vulnerable citizens.