SERAP Sues CBN Over ‘Missing’ N100bn Dirty Notes, Others

Socio-Economic Rights and Accountability Project (SERAP) has urged the Federal High Court in Lagos to order the Central Bank of Nigeria (CBN) to explain the whereabouts of the over N100 billion dirty and nasty notes kept in various branches of the Central Bank of Nigeria (CBN) since 2017.

SERAP is also asking the court, in the suit marked FHC/L/MSC/441/2024, to direct the CBN to account for the N7.2 billionn meant for the construction of the CBN Dutse branch building in 2010 and the N4.8bn meant for the renovation of the CBN Abeokuta branch in 2009 and to publish the names of contractors who collected the money.

The civil society organisation further prayed the court to compel the apex bank to explain the whereabouts of the allegedly missing outstanding loan of N1.2 billion granted to the Enugu State government in 2015, and the exceptional loan of N1.9bn granted to the Anambra state government between 2015 and 2016.

The plaintiff argued that explaining the whereabouts of the missing public funds, publishing the names of those suspected to be responsible, ensuring that they are brought to justice, and ensuring the full recovery of any missing public funds would serve the public interest and end perpetrators’ impunity.
It further submitted that the auditor-general of the federation’s allegations that these public funds were diverted suggest grave violations of public trust, the provisions of the Nigerian Constitution, the CBN Act, and national and international anticorruption obligations.

SERAP insisted that 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 anti-corruption standards.

The plaintiff maintained that these allegations have seriously undermined the CBN’s ability to effectively discharge its statutory functions and the public’s trust and confidence in the bank. The CBN ought to be committed to transparency and accountability in its operations.

The suit filed on behalf of SERAP by its lawyers Kolawole Oluwadare read in part: “Nigerians have the right to know where the public funds are. Granting the reliefs sought would advance the right of Nigerians to restitution, compensation, and guarantee of non-repetition.

“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 35(2) of the Public Procurement Act 2007 provides that, ‘once a mobilisation fee has been paid to any supplier or contractor, no further payment shall be made to the supplier or contractor without an interim performance certificate.

“Section 16(6) of the Public Procurement Act states that ‘all bidders shall possess the necessary professional and technical qualifications to carry out particular procurements; the financial capacity and adequate personnel to perform the obligations of the procurement contracts.

“SERAP notes that Section 15(5) of the Nigerian Constitution requires public institutions to abolish all corrupt practices and abuses of power.” Section 13 of the Constitution clearly imposes a 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 that, ‘Where a public officer fails to account for government revenue, such officer shall be surcharged for the total amount involved and handed over to either the Economic and Financial Crimes Commission (EFCC) or the Independent Corrupt Practices and Other Related Offences Commission (ICPC).

“Nigeria has made legally binding commitments under the UN Convention against Corruption to ensure accountability in the management of public resources. Articles 5 and 9 of the UN Convention against Corruption also impose legal obligations on the CBN to ensure proper public affairs and public funds management.

“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.

“According to the recently published 2020 audited report by the Auditor General of the Federation (AGF), the Central Bank of Nigeria (CBN) has been keeping over N100 billion [N100,672,999,000.00] ‘dirty and bad notes’ since 2017 and another large sum of cash awaiting examination in various branches of the CBN.

The auditor-general fears that the ‘dirty and bad notes’ initially planned to be destroyed may have been ‘diverted and re-injected into the economy.