Emefiele Trial: Witness Says $6.2m Withdrawal Pushed CBN Account Into ₦2.86bn Deficit
The trial of former Governor of the Central Bank of Nigeria (CBN), Godwin Emefiele, continued on Friday as a prosecution witness told the Federal Capital Territory High Court in Abuja that the controversial withdrawal of $6.2 million from the apex bank pushed one of the bank’s accounts into a negative balance of over ₦2.85 billion.
The 15th prosecution witness, Jim Osayande Obazee, a Federal Government special investigator, testified before Justice Hamza Muazu that the funds, allegedly meant for foreign election observer missions during the 2023 general election, were withdrawn from the CBN’s Abuja branch without the required naira backing for such transactions.
Obazee, who was appointed by President Bola Tinubu in 2023 to investigate the CBN and related government entities, said the transaction left the account used for internal staff and Ministries, Departments and Agencies (MDAs) with a deficit of ₦2.858 billion, a development he said should have triggered an internal investigation.
According to him, the money was released on February 3, 2023, without proper documentation identifying the recipient. He also said the transaction should have appeared in the bank’s financial records and attracted the attention of both internal and external auditors.
The witness further told the court that the CBN’s Bank Verification Number (BVN) system was reportedly non-functional for more than a month before the withdrawal, making it impossible to properly verify the identity of whoever collected the funds.
Obazee said investigations showed that former President Muhammadu Buhari approved the release of funds for election observer logistics through a letter to the then Secretary to the Government of the Federation, Boss Mustapha. He added that another letter from the former SGF introduced one Jibril Abubakar to collect the money on behalf of the Federal Government.
He, however, stated that investigators found no evidence that the funds were eventually received by any foreign election observer mission or that the transaction provided any benefit to the Federal Government.
The witness also disclosed that part of the money had been recovered from one Bashir Maishanu, who allegedly confessed to receiving some of the funds and returned $856,500 to investigators.
During cross-examination, Obazee confirmed that criminal charges had already been filed against Emefiele before he was appointed to investigate the matter. He also acknowledged that those interviewed during the investigation, including Emefiele, denied involvement in the alleged fraud.
Justice Muazu subsequently adjourned the case until October 20, 2026, for the adoption of final written addresses, while the defence indicated it would file a no-case submission on behalf of the former CBN governor.
Emefiele Trial: Witness Says $6.2m Withdrawal Pushed CBN Account Into ₦2.86bn Deficit