The Central Bank of Nigeria (CBN) has been hit with legal action by the Socio-Economic Rights and Accountability Project (SERAP), which is petitioning the Federal High Court in Abuja to force the apex financial regulator to clarify the disbursement of $6.23 million reportedly tied to election logistics, along with more than ₦1.63 trillion in unrecovered state resources.
Originating from adverse findings in the Auditor-General of the Federation’s 2023 annual assessment published in August 2026, the lawsuit targets substantial financial gaps spanning delinquent loans to state governments, advances to failed financial institutions, and agricultural credit schemes. SERAP’s deputy director, Kolawole Oluwadare, publicized the filing on Sunday under suit number FHC/ABJ/CS/2450/2026.
Through an order of mandamus, the advocacy group seeks complete visibility into how the questionable expenditures were authorized, who pocketed the funds, what recovery mechanisms have been activated, and whether compromised officials have faced disciplinary steps.
A critical point in the legal challenge centers on a $6.23 million disbursement purportedly made pursuant to an electoral funding request under former President Muhammadu Buhari. The federal auditor’s findings noted that although internal bank oversight discovered the suspicious outflow, the CBN withheld its investigation dossier from independent auditors. Warned that the money might have been misappropriated through fraudulent channels, the Auditor-General urged full clawback into national reserves. SERAP is demanding the identities of those who approved and received the payment, though the claims do not formally establish legal guilt against any individual at this stage.
The legal action also takes aim at roughly ₦1.25 trillion (specifically ₦1,252,095,444,724.82) in intervention loans disbursed to state administrations during 2023 that remain uncollected, raising concerns of potential diversion into private pockets. Additionally, scrutiny has been directed at ₦116.18 billion routed to insolvent or wound-up commercial banks, an area where the CBN allegedly neglected to produce recovery schedules or requisite accounting records for official audit.
Another ₦262.86 billion tied to the Anchor Borrowers’ Programme is under fire. The audit flagged concerns that substantial sums remain trapped with program intermediaries—termed “Anchors”—rather than reaching smallholder farmers, thereby undermining domestic food supply efforts. The CBN reportedly failed to deliver verifiable beneficiary registries or performance metrics for the initiative.
SERAP’s demands extend to physical assets as well, calling for immediate audits of seven unexamined cash crates, grounded fleet vehicles at the apex bank’s Lagos office, and a bullion transport vehicle situated in Abeokuta.
Emphasizing that statutory institutional autonomy does not confer immunity against constitutional checks, the legal team—comprising Oluwadare, Kehinde Oyewumi, Andrew Nwankwo, and Kelechi Anwu—argued that safeguarding public revenue is foundational to democracy. The court has yet to schedule an initial hearing for the matter.
