Socio-Economic Rights and Accountability Project, SERAP, has dragged the Central Bank of Nigeria, CBN, before a Federal High Court sitting in Lagos, “over the failure to account for and explain the whereabouts of the over N100 billion ‘dirty and bad notes’ and ‘other large sum of cash awaiting examination’ which are kept in various branches of the CBN.”
In the suit, SERAP is asking the court to “direct and compel the CBN to explain the whereabouts of the over N100 billion dirty and bad notes kept in various branches of the CBN since 2017.”
SERAP is also asking the court to “direct and compel the CBN to explain the whereabouts of the N7.2billion meant for the construction of the CBN Dutse branch building in 2010 and the N4.8billion meant for the renovation of the CBN Abeokuta branch in 2009 and to publish the names of contractors who collected the money.”
The group is asking the court to “direct and compel the CBN to explain the whereabouts of the allegedly missing outstanding loan of N1.2billion granted to the Enugu State government in 2015 and the outstanding loan of N1.9billion granted to the Anambra state government between 2015 and 2016.”
In the suit, SERAP is arguing that, “Explaining the whereabouts of the missing public funds, publishing the names of those suspected to be responsible and ensuring that they are brought to justice and the full recovery of any missing public funds would serve the public interest and end the impunity of perpetrators.”
SERAP is also arguing that, “These grim allegations by the Auditor-General of the Federation suggest grave violations of the public trust, the provisions of the Nigerian Constitution, the CBN Act, and national and international anticorruption obligations.”
According to SERAP, “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.”
SERAP is arguing that, “These allegations 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 suit filed on behalf of SERAP by its lawyers Kolawole Oluwadare and Mrs. Adelanke Aremo, read in part: “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.
“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 mobilization 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.’
“According to the recently published 2020 audited report by the Auditor General of the Federation (AGF), the CBN, has since 2017 been keeping over N100 billion [N100,672,999,000.00] ‘dirty and bad notes’, and other 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 ‘be diverted and re-injected into the economy.”
No date has been fixed for the hearing of the suit.
