Socio-Economic Rights and Accountability Project (SERAP) has filed a lawsuit against the Central Bank of Nigeria (CBN) over alleged failure to account for N3 trillion in public funds.
The suit follows revelations in the 2025 annual report of the Auditor-General of the Federation, published on September 9, 2025.
Kolawole Oluwadare, deputy director, SERAP, in a statement on Sunday disclosed that the case was filed last week at the Federal High Court in Abuja.
According to the organisation, it is seeking “an order of mandamus to direct and compel the CBN to account for and explain the whereabouts of the missing or diverted N3 trillion.”
The suit, marked FHC/ABJ/CS/250/2026, also seeks detailed explanations on over N629 billion allegedly paid to “unknown beneficiaries” under the Anchor Borrowers’ Programme.
Part of the filing reads, “According to the Auditor-General, the CBN in 2022 failed to remit over N1 trillion of the Federal Government’s portion of operating surplus into the Consolidated Revenue Fund account.”
It added, “The Auditor-General fears that the money may have been diverted. He wants the money recovered and remitted to the treasury.”
SERAP further cited allegations that the CBN failed to recover over N629 billion disbursed to beneficiaries whose identities remain unknown.
The organisation also alleged questionable expenditures, including N125 billion on intervention activities without National Assembly approval, N1.79 billion used to purchase 43 vehicles for Nigeria Immigration Service without procurement records, and over N189 billion in contracts with irregular variations exceeding N9 billion.
According to SERAP, “These grim allegations suggest grave violations of public trust, the Nigerian Constitution 1999 as amended, the CBN Act, and anticorruption standards.”
It added that Nigerians have the right to know the whereabouts of the funds.
No hearing date has been fixed for the suit.
