A prosecution witness in the ongoing trial of former Central Bank of Nigeria (CBN) Governor, Godwin Emefiele, has told the Federal Capital Territory (FCT) High Court in Abuja that there is no evidence showing the former apex bank chief benefited from the alleged fraudulent withdrawal of $6.23 million from the CBN.
The witness, Commissioner of Police Okpoziakpo Eloho, who testified as the Economic and Financial Crimes Commission’s (EFCC) 14th prosecution witness, made the disclosure during cross-examination by Emefiele’s counsel, Matthew Burka (SAN), on Thursday.
Eloho, who heads the Special Fraud Unit in Lagos, had earlier told the court that he was among four police officers assigned to assist the Special Investigator appointed by President Bola Tinubu, Jim Obaze, in investigating the CBN and other government institutions.
During his earlier testimony, the witness said some suspects admitted fraudulently withdrawing $6.23 million from the apex bank.
However, under cross-examination, Eloho acknowledged that investigators found no evidence indicating that Emefiele received any portion of the funds either in cash or through transfers into his personal accounts.
Emefiele is standing trial on a 20-count amended charge bordering on alleged criminal breach of trust, procurement fraud, forgery, abuse of office and conspiracy involving the withdrawal of $6.23 million from the CBN. The prosecution alleges the funds were purportedly intended for international election observers during the 2023 general elections.
The former CBN governor is also accused of conferring corrupt advantages on two companies—April 1616 Nigeria Ltd and Architekon Nigeria Ltd—while in office. He has pleaded not guilty to all the charges and is currently on bail.
During Thursday’s proceedings, the witness told the court that Emefiele, in his statement to investigators, denied authorising the release of the funds or approving any payment.
According to Eloho, Emefiele also denied receiving any request from the then Secretary to the Government of the Federation (SGF), Boss Mustapha, or acting on any such correspondence.
The witness further stated that one Jibril Abubakar, who allegedly admitted collecting the $6.23 million from the Abuja branch of the CBN, did not implicate Emefiele as a beneficiary of the funds.
He added that although Abubakar claimed to be a staff member in the Office of the Secretary to the Government of the Federation, investigations later established that he had never been employed there.
Eloho also told the court that he was unaware whether Abubakar had been prosecuted over his alleged role in the case.
Similarly, the witness said he was unaware of any prosecution involving Bashirudeen Maishanu, a CBN employee who allegedly confessed to participating in the withdrawal of the funds.
He expressed surprise at reports that Maishanu had since been promoted despite allegedly admitting involvement in the transaction.
When presented with documentary exhibits relating to the approval and release of the funds, Eloho acknowledged that established administrative procedures within the CBN were not followed.
He explained that official correspondence originating from the CBN governor would ordinarily pass through the deputy governor before being processed further.
Recalling Emefiele’s interview with investigators at the Kuje Correctional Centre on December 13, 2023, the witness said the former CBN governor denied signing any approval for the release of the funds.
“He denied receiving any letter from the SGF and also maintained that the signature on the approval documents was not his,” Eloho told the court.
On the forensic examination of signatures, the witness admitted that while the EFCC conducted forensic analysis on the signature of former SGF Boss Mustapha to verify allegations of forgery, it would have been appropriate to carry out a similar examination on Emefiele’s signature.
The trial was adjourned until Friday for the continuation of proceedings.
