In this Insider Reports Throwback, we revisit one of the most controversial financial disclosures to emerge in 2023—an allegation that the Central Bank of Nigeria (CBN) transferred a staggering $616 million to the Office of the National Security Adviser (NSA) between 2016 and 2018.
The revelations, drawn from archived CBN transaction data, pointed to a series of monthly foreign-currency transfers made under then–NSA, Major-General Babagana Monguno (retd.), during the early years of the Muhammadu Buhari administration.
According to the records, the first payment appeared in August 2016, roughly one year after Buhari assumed office. Notably, no similar transfers were recorded in the CBN’s data dating back to 2004—suggesting the practice began abruptly and quietly.
The funds, which totaled more than ₦400 billion at today’s exchange rate, continued flowing every month until November 2018, when the CBN stopped publishing operational data entirely. One of the most striking entries was a single $139 million transfer made in November 2016.
A Cloud of Questions
Experts who reviewed the transactions raised significant concerns about transparency. A former CBN official, speaking anonymously, described the payments as “a red flag,” questioning why security-related spending—typically conducted in local currency—was being routed through foreign-exchange transfers with no public documentation.
“Even if the funds were for legitimate defence procurement, it should be traceable. But this isn’t, and that’s troubling,” the source said.
Another financial analyst questioned how such large sums could move from the CBN to the NSA’s office without explicit presidential authorization, especially under an administration that jailed former NSA Sambo Dasuki for alleged diversion of $2 billion in arms funds.
Irony or Impunity?
Critics at the time noted the irony: President Buhari came into office on an anti-corruption mandate, yet such opaque financial practices appeared to have flourished under his watch.
“They complained about hidden transactions under Jonathan, but these figures raise new questions,” a source told BusinessDay back then.
Former Vice President Yemi Osinbajo had also consistently alleged that large cash movements occurred before the 2015 elections—yet the CBN-NSA transfers suggested that secrecy in security financing persisted across administrations.
The Missing Data
Because the CBN has not released operational data since 2018, it remains unknown whether these transfers continued into later years.
But for many Nigerians, the $616 million question still hangs in the air:
What exactly were these funds used for—and why was the process shrouded in secrecy?
