$6.23m withdrawn from CBN for phoney election observers during Emefiele’s tenure, EFCC witness tells court

An Economic and Financial Crimes Commission (EFCC) witness has informed a Federal Capital Territory (FCT) high court in Abuja that $6.23 million was withdrawn from the Central Bank of Nigeria (CBN) for a supposed election monitoring exercise during the 2023 general election when Godwin Emefiele was governor.

Testifying on Monday, Chinedu Eneanya, an assistant commander with the EFCC, said investigations revealed the funds were taken 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 said.

Eneanya, the 13th prosecution witness, added that documents authorising the withdrawal were retrieved from the apex bank, while individuals linked to the transaction were questioned.

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. At the centre of the trial is the alleged payment of $6.23 million from the CBN vault in 2023 for what the commission described as a “phoney” election observer exercise, which Emefiele has denied.

Led in evidence by Rotimi Oyedepo, director of public prosecutions of the federation (DPPF), Eneanya said the commission discovered that signatures attributed to former President Muhammadu Buhari and Boss Mustapha, then secretary to the government of the federation, were forged to facilitate the withdrawal.

He noted that the conclusion followed a forensic analysis of the documents used in processing the payment. However, under cross-examination by defence counsel Matthew Burkaa, Eneanya admitted that no forensic test was conducted on Emefiele’s signature.

He also confirmed that none of the five CBN officials who endorsed the internal memo approving the transaction are currently on trial, adding that they were suspended by the bank.

When asked if investigations showed that Emefiele personally received the funds, the witness said a lawyer, Ifeanyi Omeke, claimed to have collected money on behalf of the former CBN governor. He added that Emefiele was not questioned on that allegation.

The court later discharged the witness.

Proceedings shifted when the prosecution failed to present additional witnesses despite the defence indicating readiness to proceed. Oyedepo told the court that it was unclear if the remaining witnesses would be available, noting that subpoenas had not yet been issued as they were outside the court’s jurisdiction.

He said the witnesses, Jim Obessa and Eloho Okpozikbo, are based in Benin and Lagos.

The defence, however, urged the court to foreclose the prosecution’s case if the witnesses fail 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.

Oyedepo opposed the request, arguing that it was an attempt to hinder the prosecution from presenting its case.

The 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 case was adjourned to Tuesday for continuation.

Eneanya’s testimony aligns with earlier evidence presented by prosecution witnesses. 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.

On February 13, 2024, the former SGF also testified that his signature and that of Buhari 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 also told the court that the documents used for the withdrawal were forged.