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SERAP sues CBN over alleged missing N3 trillion public funds
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Lawsuit filed at Federal High Court, Abuja over Anchor Borrowers’ Programme payments
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Auditor-General report flags N629bn to “unknown beneficiaries”
The Socio-Economic Rights and Accountability Project (SERAP) has dragged the Central Bank of Nigeria before the Federal High Court in Abuja over alleged failure to account for N3 trillion in public funds.
In a statement signed by Kolawole Oluwadare, Deputy Director of SERAP, the group said the suit followed findings contained in the 2025 annual report of the Auditor-General of the Federation.
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SERAP is asking the court to compel the apex bank to explain the whereabouts of the funds and provide details of how they were spent.
The suit, marked FHC/ABJ/CS/250/2026, was filed on behalf of SERAP by its lawyers, Oluwakemi Agunbiade and Valentina Adegoke.
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According to the organisation, the Auditor-General alleged that the CBN in 2022 failed to remit over N1.4 trillion, described as the Federal Government’s share of operating surplus, into the Consolidated Revenue Fund.
“The Auditor-General fears that the money may have been diverted. He wants the money recovered and remitted to the treasury,” the statement read.
SERAP also referenced over N629 billion allegedly paid to “unknown beneficiaries” under the Anchor Borrowers’ Programme.
“The numbers of beneficiaries who collected the money are unknown. The CBN has also failed to recover the money,” the group stated, adding that the Auditor-General warned the development may have worsened food security challenges.
The organisation further cited alleged spending of N125 billion on intervention projects without National Assembly approval, and N1.79 billion used to purchase 43 vehicles for the Nigeria Immigration Service without procurement records.
It also flagged over N189 billion in contracts with variations exceeding N9 billion, as well as N90 million in outstanding COVID-19 loans at the Katsina branch that were reportedly not recovered.
SERAP argued that the allegations suggest “grave violations of public trust” and breaches of constitutional and fiscal responsibility provisions.
“Nigerians have the right to know the whereabouts of the missing or diverted funds. Granting the reliefs sought would advance the right to restitution and guarantee non-repetition,” it added.
No date has been fixed for the hearing of the case.
