Tinubu Minister Faces Court Action for Refusing to Name Cash Transfer Beneficiaries

The Minister of Humanitarian Affairs, Dr Bernard Doro, is facing possible contempt proceedings after allegedly refusing to obey a Federal High Court order directing him to publish the names of beneficiaries of conditional cash transfers in Ondo State.

Court processes show that the minister has been served with Form 48, a legal notice warning of the consequences of disobeying a valid court judgment.

The notice followed his alleged failure to comply with a ruling delivered by the Federal High Court in Abuja on November 3, 2025.

The court had ordered the Ministry of Humanitarian Affairs to release full details of individuals who received conditional cash transfers across the 18 local government areas of Ondo State between January and May 2025.

The case was filed by Myson Nejo, a lawyer and governorship candidate of the African Democratic Congress in the 2024 Ondo State election. He approached the court after demanding transparency on the distribution of the Federal Government’s social intervention funds in the state.

Justice B.F.M. Nyako, who delivered the judgment, granted all the reliefs sought by the applicant and directed the minister to disclose the list of beneficiaries. The court also awarded damages of ₦2 million in favour of Nejo.

Documents seen by POLITICS NIGERIA indicate that the ministry was properly served with the judgment and other court papers. Despite this, there has been no evidence of compliance or any appeal filed against the ruling.

Form 48 serves as a formal warning that continued refusal to obey the court order could lead to full contempt proceedings, which may attract sanctions including possible imprisonment.

The suit was triggered by a public claim made earlier in 2025 by former Minister of Humanitarian Affairs, Prof. Yilwatda Nentawe, now National Chairman of the All Progressives Congress, that about six million Nigerians benefited from the Federal Government’s conditional cash transfer programme.

Nejo had argued that such claims must be backed with verifiable records, especially in Ondo State where the programme was allegedly implemented during the election period.

Legal observers say the case raises serious questions about transparency and accountability in the management of social welfare programmes under President Bola Tinubu’s administration.

As of the time of filing this report, the Ministry of Humanitarian Affairs has not issued any official statement explaining its failure to comply with the court order.

The post Tinubu Minister Faces Court Action for Refusing to Name Cash Transfer Beneficiaries appeared first on Politics Nigeria.