Emefiele didn't gain from $6.23m cash withdrawal, says investigator

The FCT High Court in Maitama, Abuja, heard on Thursday that former Central Bank of Nigeria (CBN) Governor Godwin Emefiele did not gain from the alleged fraudulent $6.23 million cash withdrawal from a CBN vault in February 2023, while he was in office.

Eloho Okpoziakpo, the 14th prosecution witness who led the investigation into various corruption claims against Mr Emefiele after his removal in June 2023, answered questions about the withdrawal during cross-examination by defense lawyer Matthew Burkaa, a Senior Advocate of Nigeria (SAN).

The $6.23 million case is part of the 20 charges against Mr Emefiele by the Economic and Financial Crimes Commission (EFCC). Other charges include criminal breach of trust, forgery, obtaining by false pretence, conspiracy to commit forgery, procurement fraud, and conspiracy to commit a felony.

In Count 20 of the indictment, the prosecution claimed that Mr Emefiele and his aide, Odoh Eric Ocheme, who is currently at large, “knowingly obtained by false pretence” $6.23 million from CBN on February 8, 2023.

The prosecution alleged that the fraud was carried out using a false letter dated January 26, 2023, with Ref No. SGFF.43/L.01/201. This letter was said to be from the Secretary to the Government of the Federation, asking the CBN to provide $6.23 million as a “contingent logistic advance” based on a supposed presidential directive. In his testimony as the fourth prosecution witness in February 2024, the then-Secretary to the Government of the Federation, Boss Mustapha, denied issuing the letter or any such presidential order from then-President Muhammadu Buhari.

Before facing cross-examination on Thursday, Mr Okpoziakpo, the lead investigator, said in his evidence-in-chief that Mr Emefiele approved the withdrawal. Led by the Director of Public Prosecutions of the Federation (DPPF) Rotimi Oyedepo, a SAN, the witness called the withdrawal “pure theft.”

The defense team began to question the witness on Thursday after he finished his evidence-in-chief.

During the cross-examination, Mr Burkaa, the lead defense lawyer, asked Mr Okpoziakpo if Mr Emefiele benefited from the money in cash or through transfer.

Mr Okpoziakpo responded, “No, he did not.”

Presenting the witness with an exhibit, Mr Burkaa asked if the person who collected the money was identified and stated in the document. The witness replied, “Yes.”

When asked to read the name, Mr Okpoziakpo said, “Jubril Abubakar.”

In April, the witness testified about documents that enabled the alleged fraudulent withdrawal.

Mr Okpoziakpo also mentioned a letter from the Secretary to the Government of the Federation (SGF)’s office supposedly forwarding a presidential approval of $6.23 million “for the elections observers commission.”

In April, Mr Okpoziakpo said some suspects admitted to the illegal $6.23 million cash withdrawal from the CBN vault during Mr Emefiele’s time as governor.

The witness told the court that he interviewed several CBN staff during the investigation.

Mr Burkaa asked about Bashirudeen Maishanu and whether he confessed to stealing the money. Mr Okpoziakpo replied, “Yes, he did.”

When asked if Mr Maishanu was on trial, the witness said he was not aware.

Mr Burkaa then asked if the witness would be surprised that, instead of facing a jury, Mr Maishanu got promoted after Mr Emefiele left office as CBN governor.

Mr Okpoziakpo replied, “I will be shocked.”

But Mr Oyedepo objected to this line of questioning. He argued that Mr Burkaa was asking for the witness's opinion, and Mr Maishanu’s promotion was not relevant to the case.

In response, Mr Burkaa said he was not asking for an opinion but for Mr Okpoziakpo’s professional view as an investigator in the case.

Mr Burkaa also presented Mr Maishanu’s statement to the witness, where he noted that he assumed Mr Emefiele knew about the transaction Eric carried out.

At this point, the witness clarified that Mr Emefiele did not benefit from the money and that Mr Abubakar collected the $6.23 million.

The witness also stated that Mr Abubakar is not a staff member of the SGF office.

He added that Mr Abubakar is not on trial and that Mr Emefiele denied giving approval for the $6.23 million withdrawal during his investigation.

“I recall that on December 13, 2023, we were at Kuje correctional centre, where the defendant made his statement about the $6.23 million.

“In the process, the defendant denied signing for the approval or release of the money.

“The defendant also denied receiving any letter from SGF. He also stated that the signature on the documents related to the approval and release of the money was not his.”

Mr Burkaa then brought up a statement from former SGF, Boss Mustapha, to another investigator, Jim Obaze, regarding how his signature was forged.

No forensic examination of Mr Emefiele’s signature

Mr Burkaa challenged the witness that the EFCC did not carry out a forensic examination of Mr Mustapha’s signature to verify the alleged forgery.

In response, Mr Okpoziakpo said “it would have been good to carry out a similar forensic examination on Mr Emefiele’s signature,” as they did for Mr Mustapha.

He also told the court that part of the disputed $6.23 million was recovered from Mr Maishanu, but none from Mr Emefiele.

After this, the DPPF sought to re-examine the witness on Mr Emefiele’s authority as CBN’s governor and his statements regarding the forensic examination.

Mr Okpoziakpo stated, “While he was governor of CBN, he had control over all funds, and the release of funds required his approval.”

Mr Oyedepo then asked that the exhibits be shown to the witness to clarify the forensic document's relevance.

But Mr Burkaa objected, arguing that there was nothing unclear to clarify, and the documents had no relevance to his testimony.

He urged the court not to allow the clarification.

After hearing their arguments, the trial judge, Hamza Muazu, agreed with Mr Burkaa and disallowed the question. “I will not allow the Investigative Police Officer (IPO) to conclude his investigation in open court.”

The witness was then discharged, and the judge adjourned the matter until Friday.

In April, another witness, Chinedu Eneanya, said EFCC’s investigations showed that the signatures of former President Muhammadu Buhari and Mr Mustapha were forged to collect the money being questioned by the anti-graft agency.

Both Mr Mustapha and Mr Maishanu have testified about the forged signatures.

On February 13, 2024, Mr Mustapha, who served as the SGF under President Muhammadu Buhari, testified as a prosecution witness in the ongoing trial.

In his testimony, Mr Mustapha said Mr Buhari’s signature was forged to approve the cash withdrawal of $6.2 million from the CBN vault.

Similar testimonies

A day before Mr Mustapha testified, a former controller at the CBN in Abuja, Onyeka Ogbu, told the court that he got the written approval from Messrs Buhari, Mustapha, and Emefiele for the cash payment.

Mr Mustapha, who testified as the fourth prosecution witness for the EFCC, said his signature and Mr Buhari’s were forged by those who took the $6.23 million from the CBN vault on February 8, 2023.

Also, on March 7, 2024, Bamaiyi Mairiga, a forensic expert, told the court that documents used to facilitate the withdrawal of $6.23 million from the CBN were forged.

The 11th prosecution witness, Mr Maishanu, an assistant director in CBN, testified in January that the $6.23 million was withdrawn in cash from a CBN vault in one day in February 2023, during Mr Emefiele’s time as CBN governor.

But Mr Maishanu explained the roles he played in making the suspicious cash withdrawal happen. He said the cash was labeled as payments to foreign observers for the 2023 general election.