Jim Obazee, the special investigator hired by President Bola Tinubu to probe the Central Bank of Nigeria (CBN) under the leadership of Godwin Emefiele, has queried why former President Muhammadu Buhari and his then-Secretary to the Government of the Federation (SGF), Boss Mustapha, were not prosecuted alongside Mr Emefile for the fraudulent withdrawal of $6.23 million from the vault of CBN in February 2023.
Mr Obazee said this in his testimony as the 15th prosecution withn in Mr Emefile’s corruption trial before the FCT High Court in Maitama, Abuja, on Friday.
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“For actions and inactions, Mr Buhari ought to be charged and must be charged along with Emefiele in this $6.2 million fraud, even if posthumously, since national honours are given posthumously,” said Mr Obazee, while being led in evidence by prosecution lawyer, Rotimi Oyedepo, a Senior Advocate of Nigeria.
The investigator, whose months-long probe into corruption and sharp practices that allegedly took place on Mr Emefiele’s watch at CBN drew attention widely and triggered key reforms in the bank, said Mr Buhari, Mr Mustapha and others ought to face prosecution like Mr Emefiele.
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“The situation in Nigeria is a very unfortunate one, especially for the federal government to have put only Emefiele on trial in an alleged fraud that involved more than 10 people,” the witness said.
He said the humongous amount of money was released to suspected criminals without due diligence.
Mr Obazee, whose public profile gained a tremendous boost after the CBN investigations, said that by virtue of the CBN Act, the N2.8 billion equivalent of the stolen $6.2 million ought to have been deposited in an account before after ita withdrawal from the vault before it was handed in raw cash to the suspected criminals.
“Whatever you are doing to Mr Emefiele by way of prosecution ought to have been done to Messrs Buhari, Mustapha and Bashirudeen Maishanu and former board members of the CBN under Mr Emefiele.
“If all of them are prosecuted, it will serve as a deterrent, and problems of Nigeria will be reduced and eliminated by 50 per cent,” Mr Obazee said.
He called for the prosecution of Bashirudeen Maishanu, a current staff member of the CBN, who was said to have refunded his share of $856,500 from the stolen money to the special investigation panel.
He acknowledged Mr Mustapaha’s denial of knowledge of the heist or any role in it, but attached no weight to the former SGF’s defence. “As for Boss Mustapha, as far as I am concerned, he did deny to me that he did not sign the documents from his office which initiated the request for the $6.23 million and led to the release of the amount to a person who claimed to be a staff member of his office.”
Mr Obazee’s call for post-humous prosecution of Mr Buhari is not supported by Nigeria’s legal framework.
But the law allows the authorities to go after assets proved to be proceeds of crimes of any deceased person, and a court can order the forfeiture of such assets in favour of the government.
However, no evidence has linked Mr Buhari, who died in July 2025 at a London hospital, aged 82, to proceeds of the $6.23 million fraudulent withdrawal or any crime at all.
Testifying as the fourth prosecution witness in February 2024, Mr Mustapha maintained that neither Mr Buhari nor he knew anything about the theft. He said Mr Buhari did not issue any approval for the withdrawal as suggested in the letter used in facilitating the payout and that the letter purpportedly issued by him was fake.
The $6.23 million allegation is part of the 20 charges on which the Economic and Financial Crimes Commission (EFCC) is prosecuting Mr Emefiele. Other charges include criminal breach of trust, forgery, obtaining by false pretence, conspiracy to commit forgery, procurement fraud, and conspiracy to commit a felony. Mr Emefiele has stoutly maintained his innocence, denying all 20 charges.
In Count 20 of the indictment, the prosecution alleged that Mr Emefiele and his aide, Odoh Eric Ocheme, who is said to be at large, “knowingly obtained by false pretence” $6.23 million from CBN on 8 February 2023.
The prosecution alleged that the suspects perpetrated the fraud using a false letter dated 26 January 2023 and with Ref No. SGFF.43/L.01/201 purportedly issued by the Secretary to the Government of the Federation requesting the CBN to provide $6.23 million as “a contingent logistic advance” based on an acclaimed presidential directive.
Obazee speaks more on $6.23 million
Mr Obazee became visibly upset when he was shown a letter from the Presidency said to have been signed by Mr Buhari approving the release of the $6.23 million and another letter from the SGF’s office directing the release of the sum to its staff member, Jubril Abubakar.
His countenance also showed the anger welling up within him when his attention was drawn to Mr Mustapha’s extrajudicial statement. This led to his outburst, querying why the former Secretary to the Government of the Federation and others were not prosecuted.
He reaffirmed a testimony by Elohor Okpoziakpo, another investigator, who said both Messrs Buhari and Mustapha were not aware of the letter directing the release of the $6.23 million.
Mr Obazee disclosed that Mr Maishanu returned $850,000 from the sum.
Also, he asked that the Manager of the Abuja branch of the CBN be prosecuted for not following due diligence in checking the release of the sum.
Explaining his stance, Mr Obazee noted that the CBN Act mandated that N2.8 billion, equivalent to $6.2 million, should have been deposited before the money was released.
‘Emefiele should have detected the theft’
During cross-examination, Mr Emefiele’s lawyer, Mathew Burka, a SAN, Mr Obazee said no funds were recovered from Mr Emefiele.
However, he said Mr Emefiele should have been aware of the alleged loot “if the CCTV and BVN portal in the Abuja branch office of the CBN had been put to use before the money was released to looters.”
Similarly, the missing funds should have been detected in “the annual financial statement of the CBN if all those in charge had been diligent.”
READ ALSO: Emefiele didnt benefit from fraudulent $6.23m cash withdrawal from CBN vault Investigator
Thereafter, the trial judge, Hamza Muazu, adjourned until 20 October.
Mr Obazee’s testimony echoes part of the testimony of Mr Okpoziakpo, who listed the names of beneficiaries of the contested $6.23 million.
Mr Okpoziakpo also testified that some suspects confessed to the illegality of the $6.23 million cash withdrawal from the CBN vault.
However, he said on Thursday that Mr Emefiele did not benefit from the alleged fraudulent $6.23 million cash withdrawal from a CBN vault in February 2023, during his tenure in office.
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