The Socio-Economic Rights and Accountability Project (SERAP) has filed a lawsuit against the Central Bank of Nigeria (CBN) over its alleged failure to account for $6.23m in election-related funds and more than N1.63tn in other public funds flagged in the Auditor-General of the Federation’s 2023 annual report.
The organisation is asking the Federal High Court in Abuja to compel the apex bank to explain how the funds were disbursed, identify their beneficiaries and disclose steps taken to recover the money.
SERAP disclosed this in a statement issued on Sunday by its Deputy Director, Kolawole Oluwadare, saying the suit, marked FHC/ABJ/CS/2450/2026, was filed on Friday.
The action followed findings contained in Volume II of the Auditor-General’s 2023 annual report, published on August 7, 2026.
The funds under scrutiny include $6.23m linked to an alleged fraudulent election-funding request purportedly made by former President Muhammadu Buhari, N1.25tn in unrecovered intervention loans to state governments, N116.18bn in loans to distressed and liquidated banks, and N262.86bn allocated to the Anchor Borrowers’ Programme.
SERAP is seeking an order of mandamus compelling the CBN to account for the funds and disclose the purposes for which they were released, the individuals or entities that benefited, their repayment status and the measures taken to investigate possible financial irregularities.
It also wants the bank to identify officials who authorised the transactions and disclose any disciplinary or administrative action taken against those found responsible.
“The accountability of public institutions, including the CBN, is a crucial pillar of Nigeria’s constitutional democracy,” the organisation said, adding that the audit findings raised concerns about compliance with the Constitution, the CBN Act and anti-corruption laws.
On the $6.23m election-related transaction, SERAP cited the Auditor-General’s report as stating that the CBN’s internal audit indicated that the money was spent following a request purportedly made by Buhari.
However, the report reportedly faulted the bank for failing to provide its internal investigation findings for verification by the audit team.
According to SERAP, the Auditor-General expressed concern that the funds might have been lost through fraudulent payments and recommended their recovery and remittance to the treasury.
The organisation also raised concerns about more than N1.25tn in intervention loans granted to state governments, which the audit report said remained unrecovered.
SERAP cited the Auditor-General as warning that the funds might have been diverted for private purposes and recommending that they be recovered.
Regarding loans to distressed and liquidated banks, the organisation said the report identified N116.18bn in outstanding funds and faulted the CBN for failing to provide relevant financial statements and recovery schedules for audit examination.
The Anchor Borrowers’ Programme was another area of concern, with SERAP citing N262.86bn reportedly disbursed under the initiative designed to support farmers and boost food production.
The organisation said the audit report raised questions about the management of the funds, noting that some money reportedly remained with beneficiaries described as “Anchors”.
It added that the CBN allegedly failed to provide a comprehensive list of beneficiaries and an assessment of the programme’s impact.
“The magnitude and nature of these findings raise fundamental questions about the custody, expenditure, accounting, safeguarding and recovery of public resources,” SERAP said.
The suit also seeks information about seven boxes of currency notes awaiting examination, unserviceable vehicles at the CBN’s Lagos branch and a bullion van at its Abeokuta branch.
SERAP argued that the bank’s institutional independence did not remove its obligation to account for public resources or cooperate with lawful oversight processes.
“The CBN’s institutional independence cannot reasonably be understood as immunity from constitutional audit, statutory accounting requirements, public financial oversight, access to information or investigation of credible allegations of fraud and other financial misconduct,” the organisation stated.
The group maintained that investigating the reported discrepancies, identifying those responsible and recovering any missing funds would promote transparency and discourage the mismanagement of public resources.
“The findings involving public resources on the scale identified by the Auditor-General require credible investigation capable of establishing the facts, identifying responsibility and securing recovery where public funds have been unlawfully lost,” the suit stated.
The case was filed by SERAP’s lawyers, Kolawole Oluwadare, Kehinde Oyewumi, Andrew Nwankwo and Kelechi Anwu.
No date has been fixed for the hearing of the suit.
