Trending 
The Socio-Economic Rights and Accountability Project (SERAP) has filed a lawsuit against the Central Bank of Nigeria (CBN), accusing the institution of failing to account for N3 trillion in public funds.
According to SERAP Deputy Director Kolawole Oluwadare on Sunday, the legal action, filed last week at the Federal High Court in Abuja, follows findings detailed in the Auditor-General of the Federation’s 2025 annual report.
The suit, numbered FHC/ABJ/CS/250/2026, seeks a court order compelling the CBN to provide a full accounting of the missing funds.
SERAP lawyers Oluwakemi Agunbiade and Valentina Adegoke argued that the bank must explain how the funds were spent and account for any diversion.
The suit stated that the Auditor-General reported that in 2022, the CBN failed to remit over N1.44 trillion of the Nigerian Government’s share of its operating surplus into the Consolidated Revenue Fund, raising concerns that the funds might have been diverted.
The lawsuit also notes that the CBN did not recover more than N629 billion disbursed under the Anchor Borrowers’ Programme, intended to support farmers and promote food security, with the report stating that “the numbers of beneficiaries who collected the money are unknown.”
“According to the Auditor-General, the CBN in 2022 failed to remit over N1 trillion [N1,445,593,400,000.00] of ‘the Nigerian Government’s portion of operating surplus’ into the Consolidated Revenue Fund (CRF) account.
“The Auditor-General fears that the money may have been ‘diverted.’ He wants the money recovered and remitted to the treasury.
“The CBN also failed to recover over N629 billion [N629,040,000,000.00] paid to ‘unknown beneficiaries’ as part of the Anchor Borrowers’ Programme, a programme ‘meant to support farmers to ensure sustainable food production in the country.
“But the numbers of beneficiaries who collected the money are unknown.
“The CBN has also failed to recover the money. The Auditor-General fears the money may have been diverted, which could have contributed to the difficulty in sustaining food security in the Nation.”
In addition, SERAP stated other questionable expenditures, including N125 billion spent on interventions without National Assembly approval, N1.79 billion used to purchase 43 vehicles for the Nigeria Immigration Service without proper procurement records, and over N189 billion awarded in contracts with irregular variations exceeding N9 billion.
The CBN’s Katsina branch was also cited for failing to recover more than N90 million in outstanding loans disbursed to small and medium enterprises during the COVID-19 pandemic.
SERAP argued that these alleged lapses violate multiple laws, including the Financial Regulations 2009 and the Fiscal Responsibility Act, which provide for accountability and citizen enforcement.
The group claimed that the Auditor-General’s findings “reflect grave violations of public trust, the Constitution, the CBN Act, and established anticorruption standards.”
Oluwadare stressed that the lack of transparency has undermined public confidence and the CBN’s statutory functions, adding that “Nigerians have the right to know the whereabouts of the missing or diverted funds, and the reliefs sought would guarantee restitution, compensation, and non-repetition.”
The suit also cites constitutional provisions obliging public institutions to eliminate corruption and uphold transparency.
No hearing date has yet been scheduled for the case.
