The Department of State Services (DSS) has accused several Central Bank of Nigeria (CBN) staff members of aiding in the theft of public funds through the federal government’s Anchor Borrower Programme (ABP).

The allegations were made in a counter-affidavit responding to a lawsuit filed by Ansar Technology Nigeria Ltd, one of the anchors participating in the agricultural programme.

According to the DSS, the CBN and Participating Financial Institutions (PFIs) were indicted in a preliminary investigation conducted by a Joint Committee comprising various government agencies. The indictments included overriding guidelines to favor particular beneficiaries, deliberate delays in disbursing funds by PFIs, and beneficiaries collecting money from farmers out of season and in areas unsafe for cultivation due to insecurity.

The DSS specifically accused Ansar Technology of being “one of the conduits for the pilfering of public funds” by collaborating with CBN officials to override guidelines and access loans with no intention of repayment. The company had secured 20,000 hectares of farmland in Zamfara and Jigawa states for rice cultivation under the ABP but claimed that insecurity and flooding had imperiled the project.

Ansar Technology and its management had sued the DSS, arguing that the agency lacks the power to investigate or prosecute them for any act that does not endanger Nigeria’s internal security. They sought a court declaration that their participation in the ABP did not constitute a criminal offense warranting DSS investigation.

However, the DSS maintained that its mandate includes detecting, preventing, and investigating economic crimes of national security dimension. The agency accused the plaintiffs of instituting the suit solely to hinder the ongoing national financial crime investigation, which has assumed a wider dimension with other collaborators identified.

The case is currently pending before the Federal High Court, with the next hearing scheduled for November 20, 2024. The CBN has declined to comment on the matter, stating that it is still before the court.