The Socio-Economic Rights and Accountability Project (SERAP) have demanded answers from the Governor of the Central Bank of Nigeria, Olayemi Cardoso, over the sudden disappearance and diversion of N3 trillion in public funds reported by the Auditor-General of the Federation.
SERAP in a statement on Saturday, stated that the allegations were contained in the Auditor-General’s 2022 annual report, which was published on September 9, 2023.
According to the rights organisation, the CBN governor must immediately clarify the whereabouts of the missing funds and ensure accountability.
SERAP asked the CBN governor to “identify those responsible for the missing or diverted public funds and hand them over to the Independent Corrupt Practices and Other Related Offences Commission (ICPC) and the Economic and Financial Crimes Commission (EFCC) for further investigation and prosecution.”
The group further urged the CBN leadership to guarantee that all missing monies are recovered and returned to the national treasury.
In a letter dated 15 November 2025 and signed by SERAP Deputy Director, Kolawole Oluwadare, the organisation stated, “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 said, “These grave violations also reflect a failure of CBN accountability more generally 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 SERAP, “These violations have seriously undermined the ability of the CBN to effectively discharge its statutory functions and the public trust and confidence in the bank. The CBN ought to be committed to transparency and accountability in its operations.”
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The letter, read in part: “According to the Auditor-General, the CBN in 2022 failed to remit over N1 trillion [N1,445,593,400,000.00] 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.’ He wants the money recovered and remitted to the treasury.”
“The CBN in 2022 failed to recover over N629 billion [N629,040,000,000.00] paid to ‘unknown beneficiaries’ as part of the Anchor Borrowers’ Programme, a programme ‘meant to support farmers to ensure sustainable food production in the country.’”
“But ‘the numbers of beneficiaries who collected the money are unknown.’ The CBN has also failed to ‘recover the money.’ The Auditor-General fears ‘the money may have been diverted’, which could have ‘contributed to the difficulty in sustaining food security in the Nation.’”
“He wants the money recovered and remitted to the treasury.”
“The CBN has also failed to recover over N784 billion [N784,410,108,864.47] ‘being 32 unpaid, overdue loans and interventions disbursed by the Bank between 2018 and May 2022.’”
“The Auditor-General said ‘there was no evidence that the Bank was doing enough to recover the loans/interventions, which ought to have been paid.’ He wants the money recovered and remitted to the treasury.”
“The CBN in 2022 also spent over N125 billion [N125,374,000,000.00] ‘on questionable intervention activities.’ The CBN claimed it spent the money ‘on intervention activities in connection with national security, the federal government, state securities, armed forces and to build the capacity of the financial sector’.”
“But the Auditor-General is concerned that the money may have been spent ‘without the approval of the National Assembly.’ There was also no document to ‘support the expenditure.’”
“The ‘expenditure also may not have been in the public interest and consistent with the objectives of the CBN in section 2 of the CBN Act.’ The Auditor-General fears the money may have been ‘diverted.’ He wants the money recovered and remitted to the treasury.”
“The CBN in 2022 also ‘unjustifiably’ spent over N1 billion [N1,792,769,160.00] to buy 43 operational vehicles for the Nigeria Immigration Service (NIS). The ‘spending is unjustified because there is no connection with buying operational vehicles for the NIS and the objectives of the CBN as stated in section 2 of the CBN Act.”
“The NIS also ‘failed to provide any evidence to show that the vehicles were actually supplied and delivered.’ There ‘were also no procurement and payment records or documents.’ The Auditor-General fears the money may have been ‘diverted’. He wants the money recovered and remitted to the treasury.”
“The CBN also awarded 43 contracts for over N189 billion [N189,50,066,756.73] but ‘the contractors deliberately delayed completion of these contracts’ by seeking ‘extension of the completion period.’”
“The contractors then ‘requested for variation of contracts due to extension of completion period.’ Following the request, the CBN paid the contractors over N9 billion [N9,270,849,691.61] ‘irregular variation of contract price.’”
“There ‘were no relevant procurement documents such as contract files, procurement records, and payment vouchers’ for the payment. The Auditor-General fears ‘the money may have been diverted’ and the projects may have been abandoned.’ He wants the money recovered and remitted to the treasury.”
“The Katsina state branch of the CBN also failed to recover over N90 million [N90,163,610.00] being ‘outstanding loans and interventions disbursed to 33 small and medium enterprises during Covid 19 in 2020.’”
“The Auditor-General fears ‘the money may have been ‘diverted’ or ‘mismanaged’. He wants the money recovered and remitted to the treasury.”
“We would be grateful if the recommended measures are taken within 7 days of the receipt and/or publication of this letter. If we have not heard from you by then, SERAP shall take all appropriate legal actions to compel you and the CBN to comply with our request in the public interest.”
“Paragraph 708 of the Financial Regulations 2009 provides that, ‘on no account should payment be made for services not yet performed or for goods not yet supplied.’”
“Section 15(5) of the Nigerian Constitution requires public institutions to abolish all corrupt practices and abuse of power.” Section 13 of the Constitution imposes clear responsibility on the CBN to conform to, observe and apply the provisions of Chapter 2 of the constitution.”
“Paragraph 3112(ii) of the Financial Regulations 2009 provides: ‘Where a public officer fails to account for government revenue, such officer shall be surcharged for the full amount involved and such officer shall be handed over to either the EFCC or the ICPC.’”
“Nigerians have the right to know the whereabouts of the public funds. Taking the recommended measures would advance the right of Nigerians to restitution, compensation and guarantee of non-repetition.”
“The Nigerian Constitution, Freedom of Information Act, and the country’s anti-corruption and human rights obligations rest on the principle that citizens should have access to information regarding their public institutions’ activities.”
