The Central Bank of Nigeria (CBN) is once again in the legal crosshairs, this time facing a potentially explosive lawsuit over what amounts to one of the largest alleged financial scandals in recent Nigerian history.
The Socio-Economic Rights and Accountability Project, a prominent civil society organization known for its anti-corruption litigation, has filed suit against the apex bank demanding a full accounting of an alleged N3 trillion in public funds that auditors say cannot be properly traced. The lawsuit also seeks explanations for N629 billion reportedly disbursed to “unknown beneficiaries” through the Anchor Borrowers’ Programme, a government initiative originally designed to boost agricultural production.
The legal action, filed last week at the Federal High Court in Abuja and marked FHC/ABJ/CS/250/2026, comes on the heels of damning findings published in the Auditor-General of the Federation’s latest annual report, released on September 9, 2025. According to SERAP, the report contains what the organization describes as “grave allegations” pointing to serious financial irregularities at the nation’s central bank.
SERAP is asking the court to issue an order of mandamus, a judicial directive compelling a public official or institution to fulfill a legally required duty, that would force the CBN to disclose the current location of the missing funds and provide detailed documentation of how public monies were spent.
In a statement released Sunday, the organization argued that the Auditor-General’s findings suggest fundamental breaches of Nigeria’s constitutional provisions, the Central Bank of Nigeria Act, and established anti-corruption standards that govern public financial management.
“These grim 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 anticorruption standards,” SERAP stated, adding that the situation reflects what it calls a broader pattern of failed accountability within the central bank.
The organization maintains that such alleged financial mismanagement has severely undermined public confidence in how national resources are managed, particularly at a time when millions of Nigerians continue to grapple with economic hardship.
At the heart of SERAP’s legal argument is the assertion that Nigerian citizens possess a fundamental constitutional right to know how their public funds are being managed and to demand accountability when those funds are allegedly misused or diverted.
“Nigerians have the right to know the whereabouts of the missing or diverted public funds,” the organization emphasized, noting that transparency in public financial management is essential to rebuilding trust in institutions that have been repeatedly tarnished by corruption scandals.
SERAP further argued that if the court grants the orders being sought, it would not only help secure restitution and appropriate compensation where warranted but would also serve as a deterrent against future financial abuses of this magnitude.
This latest lawsuit represents a continuation of SERAP’s aggressive legal strategy against the CBN. Last year, the organization filed similar litigation challenging the apex bank’s alleged failure to disclose details of direct payments made to Nigeria’s 774 local government councils, including specific amounts sent to each council following a landmark Supreme Court judgment on local government financial autonomy.
In that earlier case, SERAP specifically sought court orders compelling the CBN to reveal whether any direct payments had been made from the Federation Account to local government councils in Rivers State, and if so, to explain the rationale behind such transfers, a particularly contentious issue given the political tensions in that state at the time.
The outcome of that previous lawsuit remains unclear, with no definitive judgment yet reported as of this filing.
The Anchor Borrowers’ Programme, now at the center of part of this controversy, was launched by the CBN as a development finance intervention aimed at creating economic linkages between smallholder farmers and reputable large-scale processors. The program was designed to provide farm inputs in kind and cash to farmers, with the expectation that they would repay loans through the harvest.
However, the program has been plagued by allegations of mismanagement, fraud, and political interference since its inception. The claim that N629 billion was paid to “unknown beneficiaries” raises serious questions about due diligence, oversight mechanisms, and the integrity of the program’s implementation.
The scale of the alleged missing funds, N3 trillion, represents a staggering sum in the context of Nigeria’s national budget and has potentially far-reaching implications for public finance management and institutional credibility. If the allegations prove accurate, it would represent one of the most significant financial scandals in the country’s history, dwarfing previous corruption cases that have rocked various government institutions.
The lawsuit also comes at a sensitive time for Nigeria’s economy, which continues to face significant challenges, including inflationary pressures, foreign exchange volatility, and concerns about the sustainability of public debt. Public confidence in the CBN’s management of monetary policy and financial resources is crucial to economic stability.
Legal experts say the case could take months or even years to resolve, depending on the complexity of the financial records involved and potential procedural challenges. The CBN has not yet issued a public response to the lawsuit, and it remains to be seen whether the apex bank will contest the claims or provide the transparency that SERAP is demanding.
For now, the matter rests with the Federal High Court in Abuja, where it joins a growing docket of high-profile corruption and financial accountability cases that continue to test Nigeria’s commitment to transparency and the rule of law.
WHAT YOU SHOULD KNOW
SERAP has sued the Central Bank of Nigeria over a staggering N3 trillion in allegedly missing public funds and another N629 billion paid to “unknown beneficiaries” under the Anchor Borrowers’ Programme, allegations stemming from the Auditor-General’s September 2025 report.
The lawsuit, filed at the Federal High Court in Abuja, seeks to compel the CBN to disclose where the money went and how it was spent. This represents one of the largest alleged financial scandals in Nigerian history and underscores critical questions about transparency and accountability at the nation’s apex bank.
If proven, the missing funds would represent a massive breach of public trust at a time when millions of Nigerians face severe economic hardship.
