The Socio-Economic Rights and Accountability Project (SERAP) has instituted legal proceedings against the Central Bank of Nigeria (CBN) for failing to disclose details of any direct payments made to Nigeria’s 774 local government councils, including the specific amounts sent to each.
This development was announced on Sunday by SERAP’s Deputy Director, Kolawole Oluwadare, who stated that the suit stems from a landmark Supreme Court judgement delivered in July 2024. The ruling affirmed that allocations from the Federation Account must be paid directly to democratically elected local government councils. It also declared that state governors have no authority to withhold, control, or divert such funds.
The lawsuit, filed last Friday at the Federal High Court in Lagos (Suit No. FHC/L/MSC/521/2025), seeks an order compelling the CBN to provide a comprehensive breakdown of any direct payments made to each local council since the Supreme Court’s verdict.
SERAP is also requesting the court to compel the CBN to confirm whether any such payments have been made to local councils in Rivers State and to explain the rationale behind any disbursement.
According to SERAP, “The CBN must enable citizens to access the details of payments made to local councils. This is vital for transparency, accountability, and assessing compliance with the Supreme Court’s ruling.”
In a public statement, the organisation added, “Granting our reliefs will reinforce the constitutional principles that underpin Nigeria’s democracy. State governors’ ongoing refusal to comply with the Supreme Court’s directive undermines the rule of law and the judiciary’s authority.”
SERAP further argued that the CBN has both a constitutional and statutory duty to ensure funds from the Federation Account are directly disbursed to each of the three constitutionally recognised tiers of government, in accordance with the Supreme Court’s order.
“The Bank must act in the public interest. If governors continue to flout the law without consequence, it not only weakens local government autonomy but also erodes the CBN’s ability to perform its statutory functions credibly,” the statement concluded.