LAGOS, Nigeria — The Socio-Economic Rights and Accountability Project, SERAP, has given the Central Bank of Nigeria seven days to account for a $6.23 million payment linked to an alleged election-funding request and more than ₦1.63 trillion in public funds flagged in a federal audit.
SERAP addressed the demand to CBN Governor Olayemi Cardoso in a letter dated Saturday, September 26, 2026, warning that it could take legal action if the bank failed to provide satisfactory explanations.
The organisation said its demands arose from findings contained in Volume II of the Auditor-General of the Federation’s 2023 Annual Report, published on August 7.
According to SERAP, the amounts include ₦1.252 trillion in unrecovered CBN intervention loans to state governments, ₦116.18 billion in loans to distressed and liquidated banks, and ₦262.86 billion connected to the Anchor Borrowers’ Programme.
The organisation is also seeking answers over $6.23 million that the Auditor-General’s report, as cited by SERAP, said was spent following a purported election-funding request attributed to former President Muhammadu Buhari.
The allegations and concerns raised in the audit do not, by themselves, establish that the funds were stolen or unlawfully diverted.
SERAP Seeks Details of Loans and Beneficiaries
SERAP asked the CBN to disclose the beneficiaries of the intervention loans, the amounts received, outstanding balances, and measures taken to recover the money.
It also requested details of the ₦262.86 billion under the Anchor Borrowers’ Programme, including the number and names of beneficiaries and participating anchors, how the money was used, and the bank’s monitoring and recovery efforts.
The Auditor-General, according to SERAP, raised concerns that ₦1.252 trillion in intervention loans to state governments remained unrecovered and warned that the money could have been diverted to private purposes.
The report also cited ₦116.179 billion in loans to distressed and liquidated banks that had not been recovered.
SERAP said auditors were not provided with the CBN’s 2023 audited or draft financial statements and schedules showing recoveries and outstanding balances for those loans.
On the Anchor Borrowers’ Programme, SERAP said the audit showed that ₦262.859 billion remained with some participating anchors and that the CBN had not provided auditors with a complete list of beneficiaries or sufficient information to assess the programme’s impact.
$6.23 Million Election-Funding Payment
SERAP also asked the CBN to release the findings of an internal investigation into the $6.23 million payment and explain what steps had been taken to recover the money and establish responsibility.
According to the organisation’s account of the federal audit, a CBN internal audit indicated that the payment followed a request for election funding purportedly made by Buhari.
The Auditor-General said the CBN did not provide the resulting investigation report to the federal audit team for scrutiny and confirmation, according to SERAP.
The audit consequently raised concerns that the payment might have been fraudulent and that the money could have been lost.
SERAP did not allege in its letter that Buhari personally made the request. It described the request as one purportedly made in his name.
SERAP Calls for Independent Review
SERAP urged the CBN to identify anyone responsible for improperly handled public funds, recover money found to have been lost, and refer suspected criminal conduct to the Economic and Financial Crimes Commission, the Independent Corrupt Practices and Other Related Offences Commission, or other appropriate authorities.
It also called for an independent forensic reconciliation of the amounts identified in the audit.
“The accountability of public institutions, including the CBN, is a crucial pillar of Nigeria’s constitutional democracy,” SERAP said in the letter signed by its deputy director, Kolawole Oluwadare.
The organisation said the scale of the findings required transparent investigation and preservation of records relating to the transactions.
SERAP also cited the Nigerian Constitution, the CBN Act 2007, and the United Nations Convention against Corruption in arguing that the central bank remains subject to audit and public accountability requirements.
“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,” the organisation said.
The audit findings cited by SERAP also raised concerns about currency notes awaiting examination and unserviceable vehicles at CBN branches in Lagos and Abeokuta.
SERAP said it would consider legal action if the CBN did not respond to its demands within seven days.
