THE Socio-Economic Rights and Accountability Project (SERAP) has sued the Central Bank of Nigeria (CBN) at the Federal High Court in Abuja over the failure to account for and explain the whereabouts of the missing or diverted N3 trillion public funds, including the over N629 billion paid to ‘unknown beneficiaries’ as part of the Anchor Borrowers’ Programme.

The lawsuit followed the allegations contained in the latest yearly report by the Auditor-General of the Federation, which was published on September 9, 2025.

In the suit, FHC/ABJ/CS/250/2026, SERAP 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 of public funds, including detailed reports of how exactly the funds were spent.

SERAP stated that the allegations by the auditor-general suggest grave violations of the public trust, the provisions of the Nigerian Constitution 1999 (as amended), the CBN Act, and anti-corruption standards.
It also said that the violations reflected a failure of CBN’s accountability and are directly linked to the institution’s persistent failure to comply with its Act and to uphold the principles of transparency and accountability.

According to the organisation, the violations have seriously undermined the ability of the CBN to effectively discharge its statutory functions and the public trust and confidence in the bank.

In the suit filed by its lawyers, Oluwakemi Agunbiade and Valentina Adegoke, SERAP said: “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 (CRF) account.
“The auditor-general fears that the money may have been ‘diverted.’”

SERAP, therefore, lamented that the beneficiaries who collected the money are unknown.

No date has been fixed for the hearing of the suit.