The governor of the Central Bank of Nigeria, Olayemi Cardoso, and the apex bank are under fire to account for missing and unremitted N1.44 trillion in public funds.
According to the 2022 yearly report by the Auditor-General of the Federation released on September 9, 2025, over N1.44 trillion is missing or diverted.
In a statement by the Socio-economic Rights and Accountability Project at the weekend, signed by its Deputy Director, Kolawole Oluwadare, it called for Cardoso to account for the missing funds.
“According to the Auditor-General, the CBN in 2022 failed to remit over N1 trillion of ‘the Federal Government’s portion of operating surplus’ into the Consolidated Revenue Fund (CRF) account.
“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,” SERAP stated.
SERAP warned that if Cardoso and CBN fail to account for the missing fund, it would institute legal action.
It added that Cardoso and CBN should name those involved in the misappropriation of the funds to the country’s anti-graft agencies, such as the Economic and Financial Crimes Commission and the Independent Corrupt Practices and Other Related Offences Commission, for prompt prosecution.
Meanwhile, the CBN is yet to speak on the matter as of filing the report.