AN Economic and Financial Crimes Commission (EFCC) witness has told a Federal Capital Territory (FCT) High Court in Abuja how a withdrawal of $6.23 million was allegedly made from the Central Bank of Nigeria (CBN) for a purported election monitoring exercise during the 2023 general elections under the leadership of former CBN governor, Godwin Emefiele.
News Point Nigeria reports that testifying on Monday, Chinedu Eneanya, an Assistant Commander with the EFCC, said investigations revealed that the funds were removed from the CBN vault under the guise of paying foreign election observers.
“The investigation revealed that $6.23 million was removed from the coffers of the CBN for purported funding of the foreign observers of the 2023 elections,” Eneanya told the court.
Eneanya, who appeared as the 13th prosecution witness, explained that documents authorising the release of the funds were recovered from the apex bank, and individuals linked to the transaction were subsequently interrogated by investigators.
The EFCC is prosecuting Emefiele on a 20-count amended charge bordering on criminal breach of trust, forgery, obtaining by false pretence, procurement fraud, and conspiracy. Central to the case is the alleged payment of $6.23 million in 2023 from the CBN vault for what the commission described as a “phoney” election observer exercise. Emefiele has, however, denied all the allegations.
Led in evidence by Rotimi Oyedepo, Director of Public Prosecutions of the Federation (DPPF), Eneanya further told the court that EFCC findings showed that signatures attributed to the late President Muhammadu Buhari and then Secretary to the Government of the Federation (SGF), Boss Mustapha, were forged to facilitate the withdrawal.
He said this conclusion followed a forensic examination of the documents used in processing the payment.
However, under cross-examination by defence counsel Matthew Burkaa, the witness admitted that no forensic test was conducted on Emefiele’s own signature.
Eneanya also confirmed that none of the five CBN officials who endorsed the internal memo authorising the transaction are standing trial, noting that they were suspended by the bank.
When asked whether investigations showed that Emefiele personally received the funds, the witness stated that a lawyer, Ifeanyi Omeke, had claimed to have received money on behalf of the former CBN governor. He added that Emefiele himself was not questioned on that specific allegation.
Following his testimony, the court discharged the witness.
Defence Seeks Foreclosure
The proceedings took another turn when the prosecution failed to present additional witnesses despite the defence indicating readiness to proceed.
Oyedepo told the court that it remained uncertain whether the remaining witnesses would be available, explaining that subpoenas had not yet been issued, and adding that the witnesses were outside the court’s jurisdiction.
He said the witnesses, Jim Obessa and Eloho Okpozikbo, were based in Benin and Lagos.
However, defence counsel urged the court to foreclose the prosecution’s case if the witnesses failed to appear.
“If the witnesses do not come tomorrow, we will apply that they should be foreclosed… This is an antic for the prosecution to put maximum hardship on the defendant,” he said.
But Oyedepo opposed the application, insisting it was an attempt to prevent the prosecution from fully presenting its case.
The trial judge, Justice Hamza Muazu, directed both parties to reserve their arguments for final written addresses and instructed the prosecution to liaise with the court registrar for the issuance of subpoenas.
The case was subsequently adjourned to Tuesday for continuation of trial.
Eneanya’s testimony aligns with earlier evidence presented by other prosecution witnesses in the ongoing trial.
In January, Bashirudeen Maishanu, a CBN official, told the court that the $6.23 million was withdrawn in cash in a single day in February 2023 and labelled as payments to foreign election observers.
Similarly, on February 13, 2024, the former SGF testified that both his signature and that of President Buhari were forged to authorise 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 also told the court that the documents used for the withdrawal were forged.