Prominent human rights lawyer and Senior Advocate of Nigeria (SAN), Femi Falana, has called on the Economic and Financial Crimes Commission (EFCC) to return N32.7 billion and $445,000 recovered from officials of the Ministry of Humanitarian Affairs to the National Social Investment Programme Agency (NSIPA) for the benefit of Nigerians.

Falana, who also chairs the Alliance on Surviving Covid-19 and Beyond (ASCAB), reminded the anti-graft agency that the funds were originally set aside by the President for the National Social Investment Programme (NSIP). The programme includes school feeding, N-Power, conditional cash transfers, and small business support through the Government Enterprise and Empowerment Programme (GEEP).

While commending the EFCC for recovering the stolen money, Falana emphasised that the funds have not yet been redirected to their intended purpose. He urged the Commission to act quickly, stressing that millions of Nigerians struggling with poverty need the relief these funds could provide.

“We commend the EFCC and urge it to intensify efforts to recover the outstanding N20 billion still unaccounted for. But more importantly, the recovered N32.7 billion and $445,000 should be transferred to NSIPA to help alleviate the hardship faced by over 133 million multi-dimensionally poor Nigerians,” he said.

Falana also urged federal, state, and local governments to contribute more meaningfully to social protection programmes, especially given recent increases in government revenue. He insisted that initiatives targeting the poor should not be treated as token gestures but as vital lifelines.

His remarks come at a time when Nigerians are demanding greater transparency and accountability in the management of social welfare funds, following multiple corruption scandals within the humanitarian and social investment sector.