Human rights lawyer Femi Falana, SAN, has called on the Economic and Financial Crimes Commission (EFCC) and the Independent Corrupt Practices and Other Related Offences Commission (ICPC) to investigate the alleged misappropriation of the $3.4 billion loan Nigeria obtained from the International Monetary Fund (IMF) to combat the COVID-19 pandemic.

Speaking on behalf of the Alliance on Surviving COVID-19 and Beyond (ASCAB), Falana issued a statement on Sunday, urging the IMF board to investigate its management’s failure to ensure that the funds were used for their intended purposes. He also called for the suspension of charges, including net charges, basic interest, and administrative fees totaling SDR 125.99 million (approximately N275.28 billion), pending the completion of the investigation.

The loan, granted under the Rapid Financing Instrument (RFI) in April 2020, was meant to provide critical support to Nigeria’s health sector and protect jobs and businesses during the pandemic. However, a report by the Office of the Auditor-General of the Federation in January 2024 flagged several irregularities in handling the funds. The report revealed that in April 2020, $2.4 billion was transferred to the Central Bank of Nigeria (CBN) account at the Federal Reserve Bank of New York, and the remaining balance was moved to the CBN’s account at the Bank of China in Shanghai.

By June 2020, the $2.4 billion was redirected to the Bank for International Settlements for short-term investments, while the funds in China were transferred to the Industrial and Commercial Bank of China. These transactions reportedly lacked proper documentation and approvals from the Federal Government or the CBN’s Investment Committee.

The report also revealed that the funds were reclassified as part of the CBN’s external reserves instead of being maintained as Federal Government holdings, allowing interest to be earned on them contrary to the intended emergency spending purpose. Additionally, discrepancies were noted in the monetization process of $700 million to support the 2020 federal budget, which included a two percent commission charge.

By the end of 2020, $2.7 billion (approximately N1.02 trillion) remained unaccounted for, with the Auditor-General’s report recommending that the CBN Governor explain the movement and classification of the funds without proper authorization. The report also called for the recovery of N13.3 billion and N350 million, as well as the remittance of all interest earned from the investments.

Falana emphasized that the National Assembly has not adequately addressed the Auditor-General’s findings, and ASCAB has called for an investigation into the alleged criminal diversion of the funds and for prosecution of those involved. He concluded his statement by urging the EFCC and ICPC to investigate the mismanagement and for the IMF to take immediate action to ensure accountability.