SERAP Sues CBN Over $6.23m Election Funds, ₦1.63tn in Public Funds

Fidelia Soriwei, Abuja
The Socio-Economic Rights and Accountability Project (SERAP) has sued the Central Bank of Nigeria (CBN), seeking an account of $6.23 million linked to an alleged fraudulent election-funding request and more than ₦1.63 trillion in other public funds flagged in the Auditor-General of the Federation’s 2023 annual report.
The suit, marked FHC/ABJ/CS/2450/2026, was filed at the Federal High Court in Abuja on Friday. SERAP is seeking an order of mandamus compelling the apex bank to explain the transactions, identify beneficiaries and disclose repayment and recovery measures.
The action follows findings in Volume II of the Auditor-General’s 2023 annual report, published on August 7, 2026, covering various periods between January and December 2023.
The funds include $6.23 million linked to an election-funding request purportedly made by former President Muhammadu Buhari, ₦1.252 trillion in unrecovered intervention loans to state governments, ₦116.18 billion in loans to distressed and liquidated banks, and ₦262.86 billion under the Anchor Borrowers’ Programme.
On the dollar-denominated transaction, the Auditor-General said the CBN failed to provide its internal investigation report concerning alleged fraud at its Abuja branch. The report indicated that the money was spent following a purported election-funding request made in Buhari’s name. It raised concerns that the funds might have been lost through fraudulent payments and recommended their recovery and remittance to the treasury.
The audit also flagged ₦1.252 trillion in intervention loans to state governments, warning that the money might have been diverted to private purposes. It recommended recovery of the outstanding amount. Another ₦116.179 billion in loans to distressed and liquidated banks was identified, alongside the CBN’s failure to provide relevant financial statements and recovery schedules for audit examination.
The Anchor Borrowers’ Programme, intended to support farmers and food production, was also questioned over ₦262.859 billion. The Auditor-General raised concerns that some funds remained with programme anchors and that the CBN failed to provide beneficiary details and an assessment of the programme’s impact, potentially undermining its food-security objectives.
SERAP is further seeking records concerning seven boxes of currency notes awaiting examination, unserviceable vehicles at the CBN’s Lagos branch and a bullion van at its Abeokuta branch. The Auditor-General warned that the unserviceable vehicles could hamper branch operations and delay critical currency services, recommending evidence of their disposal or replacement.
The organisation wants the CBN to identify officials and other individuals who approved or disbursed the funds and disclose any disciplinary or administrative action taken. It also seeks the findings of the bank’s internal investigation, details of beneficiaries, repayment status and measures taken to recover any money found to have been improperly paid or lost.
SERAP’s lawyers, Kolawole Oluwadare, Kehinde Oyewumi, Andrew Nwankwo and Kelechi Anwu, argued that the allegations require credible investigation to establish responsibility and facilitate the recovery of public funds. The organisation cited the 1999 Constitution, the CBN Act 2007 and the United Nations Convention against Corruption, maintaining that the bank’s independence does not exempt it from statutory accounting requirements, constitutional audit obligations or financial oversight.
SERAP maintains that Nigerians are entitled to transparency in the management of public resources and that any funds established to have been improperly paid or lost should be recovered. The allegations in the audit report have not, by themselves, established that the funds were stolen.
No date has been fixed for the hearing of the suit.