Group Sues CBN Over ‘Missing’ N100bn ‘Dirty Notes’

The Socio-Economic Rights and Accountability Project (SERAP) has called on the Central Bank of Nigeria (CBN) to provide a full account of over N100 billion in “dirty and bad notes” and other large sums of cash reportedly stored in various branches of the apex bank.

In a statement released on Sunday, Kolawole Oluwadare, Deputy Director of SERAP, criticized the CBN for its lack of transparency regarding the location of these funds. He revealed that SERAP has filed a lawsuit in the Federal High Court in Lagos, seeking an order to compel the CBN to disclose the whereabouts of the N100 billion in question, which has allegedly been held in various branches since 2017.

Additionally, SERAP is asking the court to direct the CBN to account for N7.2 billion earmarked for the construction of the CBN Dutse branch building in 2010 and N4.8 billion intended for the renovation of the CBN Abeokuta branch in 2009. The organization also demands the publication of the names of contractors who received these funds.

The legal action further seeks an explanation for the missing outstanding loan of N1.2 billion granted to the Enugu State government in 2015 and the N1.9 billion loan given to the Anambra State government between 2015 and 2016.

SERAP argues that uncovering the whereabouts of the missing public funds, publishing the names of those responsible, and ensuring they are held accountable would serve the public interest and help end the impunity of perpetrators. The suit, filed by SERAP lawyers Kolawole Oluwadare and Mrs. Adelanke Aremo, states, “Nigerians have the right to know the whereabouts of the public funds. Granting the reliefs sought would advance the right of Nigerians to restitution, compensation, and guarantee of non-repetition.”

The organization cited Paragraph 708 of the Financial Regulations 2009, which mandates that payment should not be made for services not yet performed or goods not yet supplied, and Section 35(2) of the Public Procurement Act 2007, which stipulates that no further payment shall be made to a supplier or contractor without an interim performance certificate after a mobilization fee has been paid.

No date has been set for the hearing of the suit filed against the CBN over the missing dirty notes

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