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A prosecution witness said at the FCT High Court in Abuja on Friday that some title documents and the sun of $2 million recovered from a lawyer belonged to former Central Bank of Nigeria (CBN) Governor Godwin Emefiele,
David Jaiyeoba, appeared in court as the 12th prosecution witness presented by the Economic and Financial Crimes Commission (EFCC) in the corruption trial of Mr Emefiele.
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A statement highlighting major developments in Friday’s proceedings, shared with PREMIUM TIMES by its spokesperson Dele Oyewale on Friday, said Mr Jaiyeoba, an EFCC investigation officer, was led in evidence by the prosecution lawyer and Director of Public Prosecution, Rotimi Oyedepo, who is a Senior Advocate of Nigeria (SAN).
Mr Emefiele faces 20 amended counts, including criminal breach of trust, forgery, obtaining by false pretence, conspiracy to commit forgery, procurement fraud, and conspiracy to commit felony. Mr Emefiele, who was removed from office in 2023, allegedly committed the offences during his time as the CBN governor.
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The witness stated that the investigation into Mr Emefiele was triggered by a report sent to the EFCC by the Inter-Agency Task Force, headed by the State Security Service (SSS).
“Several individuals, companies and government agencies were invited and interviewed, and several findings were made,” he said, adding that numerous assets and cash were recovered during the probe and have been forfeited to the federal government, he said.
Mr Jaiyeoba said the funds were traced to Eric Ocheme Odoh, Mr Emefiele’s personal assistant during his tenure as CBN governor.
He explained how Collins Omeife, Mr Emefiele’s lawyer, admitted that the money and property documents found in his possession belonged to the former governor.
According to the witness, Mr Omeife disclosed during interrogation that Mr Emefiele routinely gave him cash, some in foreign currency, for property acquisitions.
He further stated that the funds were usually sent to him by Mr Odoh.
Mr Omeife also used part of the funds to renovate some of the defendant’s existing assets.
The prosecution witness added that Mr Emefiele’s ownership of the assets was further confirmed when he came to show cause as to why the assets should not be forfeited to the federal government.
He further informed the court that Mr Emefiele approved payments for contracts to several companies, including Architekon Nigeria Limited, promoted by his brother-in-law, MacCombo Omoile, and his wife, Margaret Omoile.
The witness noted that Exhibit A1 is an internal memorandum of the CBN showing approval for payment relating to the governor’s residential house in Ikoyi, Lagos, while Exhibit A2 is a contract document for landscaping the residence by Architekon Nigeria Ltd.
The witness spotlighted that Exhibit A5 is an internal memo requesting approval to pay N97.9 million (N97,908,416.38) to Architekon Nigeria Ltd for office furniture for the CBN, and Exhibit A8 is another internal memo for a contract to provide dedicated power to the governor’s residence, both approved by Mr Emefiele.
He also noted correspondence between the EFCC and Zenith Bank regarding the defendant’s account, citing Exhibits ED1, ED2, and ED3. “Exhibit ED3 is a debit entry on the defendant’s account no 2020000064, amounting to N4 million, which was paid to Architekon Nigeria Ltd,” he said.
$6.23m ‘election monitoring fund withdrawal’
On Thursday, Bashirudden Maishanu, an assistant director at CBN, testified as the 11th prosecution witness on how he helped facilitate a withdrawal allegedly meant to pay foreign observers for the 2023 general elections.
He said an intermediary linked to Mr Emefiele left $2.5 million for him and two colleagues to withdraw at the CBN branch in Garki, Abuja, on 8 February 2023, without any prior negotiation.
Previous prosecution witnesses, including former Secretary to the Government of the Federation, Boss Mustapha, had testified that his signature and that of the then-President Muhammadu Buhari purportedly approving the withdrawal documents were forged.
Forensic expert Bamaiyi Meriga confirmed the forgery, citing differences in pen movement, loop formation, and other characteristics from genuine signatures.
The judge Hamza Muazu adjourned the trial until 5, 16, and 17 March.
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