The Socio-Economic Rights and Accountability Project (SERAP) has given the Central Bank of Nigeria (CBN) and its governor, Olayemi Cardoso, seven days to explain the whereabouts and management of more than ₦1.63 trillion and $6.23 million in funds flagged in the Auditor-General of the Federation’s 2023 report.
SERAP said it would consider legal action if the CBN fails to provide the requested explanations within the seven-day deadline. The organisation’s demand was contained in a letter dated September 26, 2026, signed by its Deputy Director, Kolawole Oluwadare.
According to SERAP, the funds under scrutiny include more than ₦1.25 trillion in intervention loans to state governments, ₦116.18 billion in loans to distressed and liquidated banks, and ₦262.86 billion released under the Anchor Borrowers’ Programme.
The organisation is also seeking clarification over $6.23 million which the audit findings reportedly linked to a purported request for election funding attributed to former President Muhammadu Buhari.
SERAP said the figures and concerns were contained in Volume II of the Auditor-General’s 2023 Annual Report, published on August 7, 2026, with findings covering various activities between January and December 2023.
The organisation wants the CBN to provide details of the beneficiaries of the state intervention loans, the amounts released and the measures taken to recover outstanding funds.
It also wants the bank to account for the Anchor Borrowers’ Programme money, including the beneficiaries, participating anchors, how the funds were used, monitoring arrangements and any recovery efforts.
On the $6.23 million payment, SERAP is demanding the publication of any internal investigation into the alleged transaction, as well as details of steps taken to establish responsibility and recover the funds.
“The accountability of public institutions, including the CBN, is a crucial pillar of Nigeria’s constitutional democracy,” SERAP said.
The organisation argued that the scale of the audit findings requires independent and transparent scrutiny, particularly where public funds have allegedly remained unrecovered or unaccounted for.
SERAP also called on the CBN to identify anyone found responsible for financial wrongdoing and take appropriate disciplinary action. Where investigations establish suspected criminal conduct, it wants the matter referred to bodies including the Economic and Financial Crimes Commission (EFCC) and the Independent Corrupt Practices and Other Related Offences Commission (ICPC).
The organisation further demanded a forensic reconciliation of the affected funds and called for the preservation of documents and other records connected to the transactions.
According to SERAP’s account of the audit findings, the Auditor-General raised concerns that the CBN had not recovered more than ₦1.25 trillion in intervention loans granted to various states and warned that the funds could have been diverted to private purposes.
The audit findings also reportedly raised concerns over ₦116.18 billion in loans to distressed and liquidated banks, including the CBN’s failure to provide auditors with relevant financial statements and recovery schedules.
For the Anchor Borrowers’ Programme, the Auditor-General reportedly questioned the lack of adequate information on beneficiaries and the impact of the ₦262.86 billion disbursed, with concerns that some funds remained with participating “anchors.”
SERAP also cited an alleged $6.23 million transaction at the CBN’s Abuja branch. According to the organisation, the CBN’s internal audit reportedly indicated that the payment followed a purported request for election funding attributed to Buhari, while the internal investigation report was not made available to the audit team.
SERAP said the CBN must explain the transaction and make the outcome of any investigation public.
The organisation also referenced other issues contained in the audit findings, including seven boxes of currency awaiting examination and unserviceable vehicles reportedly left at CBN branches in Lagos and Abeokuta.
SERAP said accountability for public funds cannot be excluded from oversight because of the CBN’s institutional independence.
“The CBN’s institutional independence cannot reasonably be understood as immunity from constitutional audit, statutory accounting requirements, public financial oversight, access to information or investigation of credible allegations of financial misconduct,” it said.
The group said Nigerians have a right to know how public funds entrusted to institutions are managed and insisted that any funds ultimately found to have been improperly spent or lost should be recovered and returned to government coffers.
SERAP said failure by the CBN and Cardoso to respond within seven days would lead to further legal steps.
Source: SERAP.
