$6.23m withdrawn from CBN for election observers under Emefiele, EFCC witness tells court
A witness for the Economic and Financial Crimes Commission (EFCC) has told the Federal Capital Territory (FCT) High Court in Abuja that $6.23 million was withdrawn from the Central Bank of Nigeria (CBN) during Godwin Emefiele’s tenure as governor, allegedly under the guise of funding foreign election observers for the 2023 general elections.
Testifying on Monday, Chinedu Eneanya, an assistant commander with the EFCC, said investigations revealed that the money was taken from the CBN vault for what he described as a fraudulent election monitoring exercise.
According to Eneanya, documents authorising the release of the funds were recovered from the CBN, and several individuals linked to the transaction were questioned.
The EFCC is prosecuting Emefiele on a 20-count amended charge involving alleged criminal breach of trust, forgery, obtaining by false pretence, procurement fraud, and conspiracy. Emefiele has denied all allegations.
Led in evidence by Rotimi Oyedepo, Director of Public Prosecutions of the Federation, Eneanya told the court that signatures attributed to former President Muhammadu Buhari and former Secretary to the Government of the Federation, Boss Mustapha, were forged to facilitate the withdrawal.
He said the conclusion was reached after a forensic examination of the documents used in processing the payment.
However, during cross-examination by defence counsel Matthew Burkaa, the witness admitted that no forensic analysis was conducted on Emefiele’s signature.
He also confirmed that none of the five CBN officials who endorsed the internal memo authorising the transaction are currently on trial, adding that they were merely suspended by the bank.
When asked whether investigations established that Emefiele personally received the money, Eneanya said lawyer Ifeanyi Omeke claimed he collected funds on behalf of the former CBN governor.
He further admitted that Emefiele was never questioned regarding that allegation.
The witness was subsequently discharged.
Defence Seeks Closure of Prosecution’s Case
Proceedings took another turn when the prosecution failed to produce additional witnesses, despite the defence indicating readiness to continue.
Oyedepo told the court that it was uncertain whether the remaining witnesses would be available, noting that subpoenas had not yet been issued because the witnesses were outside the court’s jurisdiction.
He identified the witnesses as Jim Obessa and Eloho Okpozikbo, who are based in Benin and Lagos.
In response, defence counsel urged the court to close the prosecution’s case if the witnesses fail to appear.
“If the witnesses do not come tomorrow, we will apply that they be foreclosed. This is simply a tactic by the prosecution to inflict maximum hardship on the defendant,” Burkaa argued.
Oyedepo opposed the request, saying it was an attempt to stop the prosecution from fully presenting its case.
Trial judge Hamza Muazu directed both parties to reserve their arguments for final written addresses and instructed the prosecution to liaise with the court registrar to issue subpoenas.
The matter was adjourned until Tuesday for continuation of trial.
Earlier Testimonies
Eneanya’s testimony aligns with previous evidence presented by prosecution witnesses.
In January, Bashirudeen Maishanu, a CBN official, testified that the $6.23 million was withdrawn in cash in a single day in February 2023 and labelled as payments to foreign election observers.
On February 13, 2024, former SGF Boss Mustapha also told the court that both his signature and Buhari’s were forged to approve the release of the funds.
A day earlier, Onyeka Ogbu, a former CBN controller in Abuja, said he received documents bearing approvals from Buhari, Mustapha, and Emefiele for the payment.
In March 2024, forensic expert Bamaiyi Meriga similarly testified that the documents used for the withdrawal were forged.
Source: The Cable