753 Housing Units Fraud Trial: Bank official details disbursements of N1.6bn on Emefiele’s instructions

A prosecution witness at the FCT High Court in Maitama, Abuja, on Wednesday narrated how he disbursed over N1.6 billion on the instruction of the former governor of the Central Bank of Nigeria (CBN), Godwin Emefiele.

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The third prosecution witness, Richard Agulu, a staff member of the Nigerian Communications Commission, (NCC), said the money he received and disbursed was not domiciled in Mr Emeifele’s personal account in Zenith Bank but kept in the bank’s vault or certain accounts.

The witness presented by the Economic and Financial Crimes Commission (EFCC) said the funds were disbursed based on the instructions of the former CBN governor through his aide, Eric Ocheme.

Mr Agulu, a former staff member of Zenith Bank, gave this testimony while being led in evidence by prosecution lawyer Rotimi Oyedepo, a Senior Advocate of Nigeria (SAN), during the trial of Mr Emefiele on charges regarding acquisition of multimillion dollars properties in Abuja.

EFCC accused Mr Emefiele of unlawfully acquiring an estate with 753 housing units and keeping possession of billions of naira in proxy accounts, while he was serving as the CBN governor.

The charges named Mr Ocheme, said to be an assistant to Mr Emefiele, a co-suspect on the run.

But Mr Emefiele denied all eight counts during his arraignment in June 2025.

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Details of transactions

At the resumed hearing in the trial on Wednesday, the third prosecution witness told the court that Mr Emefiele was Zenith Bank Managing Director before he was appointed CBN governor.

He also said Mr Ocheme was a staff member of Zenith Bank before assuming the role of Mr Emefiele’s personal assistant.

“Mr Eric (Ocheme), as the personal assistant to the defendant, used to run errands for him. On the defendant’s instruction, I used to receive cash from Eric and disburse the same when needed,” Mr Egoro said.

While presented with the bank account of a business, Ifeabigo Integrated Services, the witness acknowledged that the account belonged to a friend of his, Peters Adebayo, a businessman involved in construction, agency, and merchandising in Abuja.

He told the court that between 2020 and 2022, Mr Ocheme directed him to deposit several amounts into the account on behalf of Mr Emefiele.

In February 2021, he deposited N75 million, and in March 2021, N134.5 million. This was followed by N123 million in April 2021, N32 million in May, and N132 million in June 2021, the witness said.

Then, in July 2021, there were two cash deposits of N100 million and N70 million made, and a transfer of N99 million later in the same month.

According to the witness, there were also cash deposits for August 2021, including an initial N40 million and N45 million. This was followed by eight deposits: six at N50 million each, N25 million, and N5 million.

In the same month, he said he transferred N600 million and N300 million from the Ifeabigo Integrated Services account to MG Properties Limited.

The witness said N700 million was similarly transferred from the Kelvito Integrated Services account to MG Properties Limited on the same day. The relationship between the company and the case was unclear from the tesimony.

“I transferred a total sum of N1.6 billion to MG Properties Limited on the defendant’s instruction through Mr Eric,” the witness said.

Other transfers, according to the witness, included N225 million on 25 August 2021. He also referenced three deposits of N50 million, N60 million, and N50 million on 30 August 2021.

In September 2021, N300 million was received into the account from Ace Frozen Foods Ventures.

However, on the same day, he withdrew N225 million in cash, which was picked up by Eric Ocheme. These transactions continued from October 2021 till January 2022, the witness said.

Mr Agulu also said the narration of some deposits read “CD/Peter Adebayo,” which reflected the name of the account’s signatory.

READ ALSO: Emefiele admitted bypassing CBN board on Naira redesign – Witness

However, the witness denied knowing the purpose of the money.

“I was confronted with these transfers by the EFCC, and I confirmed that I was instructed to make the transfers to MG Properties by Eric on behalf of the defendant. I do not know the purpose of the transfers,” he said.

Under cross-examination, he said that the transactions he described can be authorised by owners and signatories to the accounts.

Emefiele’s name did not appear in documents

Earlier in the proceedings, the EFCC presented Access Bank’s response on Ace Frozen Foods Ventures’ account through the second witness, Olomotam Egoro, a compliance officer with Access Bank.

While the mandate of the holders of the Ace Frozen Foods Ventures account was identified as Kamaru Lasisi and Raphael Ibhafidon Uguomore, the document did not indicate the owners of the business. The link between the company and the names mentioned and the case had yet to be known.

Also, during cross-examination, Mr Egoro said Mr Emefiele’s name did not appear in the documents the EFCC presented through him.

Thereafter, trial judge Yusuf Halilu adjourned the case until 16 February.

This is only one out of a series of trials Mr Emefiele is facing since his removal from office in 2023.

He is currently standing trial before two judges in Abuja and another one in Lagos.