SERAP Sues CBN Over $6.23 Million in Election Funds, ₦1.63 Trillion in Public Funds

The Socio-Economic Rights and Accountability Project (SERAP) has sued the Central Bank of Nigeria (CBN), seeking an order compelling it to account for $6.23 million in allegedly unaccounted-for election funds and more than ₦1.63 trillion in other public funds flagged in the Auditor-General of the Federation’s 2023 report.

The suit, filed at the Federal High Court in Abuja, follows findings published Aug. 7, 2026, covering financial transactions and other matters from January to December 2023.

SERAP is asking the court to compel the CBN to disclose the purposes and beneficiaries of the funds, its recovery efforts and the findings of any internal investigation into the alleged election-funding fraud.

According to the Auditor-General’s report cited in the suit, the $6.23 million was linked to an election-funding request purportedly made by former President Muhammadu Buhari.

The report said the CBN failed to provide its internal investigation findings for audit scrutiny.

The other funds 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 disbursed under the Anchor Borrowers’ Programme.

SERAP also wants the CBN to identify officials responsible for approving the transactions and disclose measures taken to recover any funds found to have been improperly disbursed.

“The accountability of public institutions, including the CBN, is a crucial pillar of Nigeria’s constitutional democracy,” SERAP said in its suit.

The organisation argued that the bank’s independence does not exempt it from statutory audits, financial reporting requirements or investigations into credible allegations of misconduct.

The suit also seeks records concerning seven boxes of currency notes awaiting examination and unserviceable vehicles reportedly abandoned at the CBN’s Lagos and Abeokuta branches.

No hearing date has been fixed. The allegations cited in the lawsuit have not, by themselves, established that the funds were stolen or that any individual committed an offence.