Senior Advocate of Nigeria and human rights lawyer Femi Falana, has urged the Economic and Financial Crimes Commission (EFCC) to transfer the N32.7 billion and $445,000 recovered from officials of the Ministry of Humanitarian Affairs, Disaster Management, and Social Development to the National Social Investment Programme Agency (NSIPA) for proper use.
Falana made the demand in a public statement posted on August 24, 2025, on behalf of the Alliance on Surviving Covid-19 and Beyond (ASCAB), which he leads.
Falana recalled that in January 2025, President Bola Tinubu approved N32.7 billion for the implementation of the National Social Investment Programme (NSIP), which includes school feeding, N-Power, conditional cash transfers, and small business assistance through the Government Enterprise and Empowerment Programme.
He mentioned that while the EFCC had earlier recovered the exact sum of N32.7 billion and an additional $445,000 from allegedly corrupt officials within the Humanitarian Affairs Ministry, the funds are yet to be redirected to the NSIPA—despite the EFCC’s stated policy of ensuring that recovered funds are returned for their intended purposes.
“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 the National Social Investment Programme Agency to help alleviate the hardship faced by over 133 million multi-dimensionally poor Nigerians,” Falana stated.
The speaker urged all levels of government—federal, state, and local—to increase their contributions to the NSIP in light of increased government revenues.
The FAAC shared N2.001 trillion in July 2025 from a total of N3.836 trillion and N1.8 trillion in June 2025. The speaker urged that these increased revenues be reflected in enhanced social investment rather than mere tokenism.
“Governments must go beyond lip service and invest meaningfully in social protection programmes. They must put their money where their mouth is,” he concluded.
Falana’s words come amid widespread calls for transparency and accountability in the operation of Nigeria’s social assistance schemes, particularly in light of high-profile corruption cases using cash designated for the poor.
![Rev. Fr. Anthony Odiong, a US-based Nigerian Louisiana Catholic priest, was arrested in Florida on Tuesday for possessing child pornography, according to law authorities. The suspect is reportedly accused of many other cases of sexual assault. The Waco, Texas, Police Department announced in a Facebook post on Tuesday that officers detained Father Anthony Odiong in Ave Maria, Florida, with assistance from the United States Marshals Service. Waco police announced in March that they had received "credible information" about a sexual assault allegedly committed by Odiong in Texas in 2012. “During the subsequent investigation, a case of possession of child pornography was uncovered,” the police said. The priest was apprehended in Florida by the Caribbean Regional Fugitive Task Force. The Waco Police Department said that he will be extradited to Texas. Odiong had previously served in the Archdiocese of New Orleans before being removed as priest in December of last year due to controversy over homilies in which he claimed, among other things, that the Catholic Church was being taken over by "the gays." At the time, the priest was also accused of abusive behaviour; a Louisiana lady claimed in U.S. bankruptcy court that Odiong had committed both financial and sexual abuse against her. Prior to joining the New Orleans Archdiocese, Odiong served in at least two Texas parishes. On Tuesday, Waco police stated that during their sexual assault investigation, "the presence of other survivors was revealed." “Multiple women have come forward to tell similar experiences as the sexual assault survivor who reported the initial allegation,” the police department said. “Survivors’ experiences ranged from sexual assault and indecent assault, more commonly recognised as groping, and financial abuse, with some survivors experiencing every element of Anthony Odiong’s manipulation.” The police said they “believe there may be more survivors, and we wish to speak with anyone who [has] had similar encounters” with the priest. The Archdiocese of New Orleans issued a brief news release on Tuesday noting Odiong's arrest in Florida. The archdiocese “encourages anyone with any information to contact law enforcement,” the release said.](https://chronicle.ng/wp-content/uploads/2024/08/ezgif-6-4730550ede-450x300.jpg "Odiong: US-based Nigerian Catholic priest convicted over sexual assault")
