Fresh Twist In $6.2 Million CBN Case As Investigator Tells Court Emefiele Knew Of Alleged Withdrawal

A prosecution witness, Jim Obazee, on Friday told the Federal Capital Territory High Court in Abuja that the alleged fraudulent withdrawal of $6.2 million from the Central Bank of Nigeria (CBN) caused one of the bank’s special dollar accounts to record a negative balance of ₦2.858 billion.....KINDLY READ THE FULL STORY HERE▶

Obazee, who testified as the 15th prosecution witness, made the disclosure during the ongoing trial of former CBN Governor, Godwin Emefiele, before Justice Hamza Muazu.

The Economic and Financial Crimes Commission (EFCC) is prosecuting Emefiele on an amended 20-count charge involving allegations of conspiracy, criminal breach of trust, forgery, obtaining by false pretence, and the conferment of corrupt advantages linked to about $6.23 million. Emefiele has denied the allegations.

Led in evidence by the Director of Public Prosecutions of the Federation, Rotimi Oyedepo (SAN), Obazee alleged that the funds were released from the CBN’s Abuja branch on February 3, 2023, purportedly to cover logistics for foreign election observers during the 2023 general election.

According to the witness, the transaction was processed without the required naira backing for dollar withdrawals, resulting in a negative account balance of ₦2,858,150,196.42.

Obazee told the court that such a transaction should ordinarily have been detected and queried by both the CBN governor and the bank’s chief accounting officer.

“Nobody would ordinarily be allowed to leave the bank until the account is properly balanced,” he said.

He further alleged that the transaction lacked proper documentation identifying the officer who received the funds and that investigators found no evidence showing the money reached the intended foreign election observers or delivered any benefit to either the Federal Government or the CBN.

“The money was withdrawn, but there was no proof that it got to the supposed beneficiaries,” Obazee testified.

The witness said the investigation began with a review of the CBN’s internal control systems and interviews with officials from the bank’s internal audit department.

He told the court that investigators examined a letter from former President Muhammadu Buhari authorising the release of funds for election observer logistics, as well as a subsequent letter from former Secretary to the Government of the Federation, Boss Mustapha, introducing Jibril Abubakar as the person authorised to receive the money.

Obazee also claimed that the CBN’s Bank Verification Number (BVN) verification portal had been non-functional for more than a month before the transaction, making it impossible to verify the identity of the individual who collected the funds.

He further alleged that the CBN official who processed the payment documents was transferred to the governor’s office just 56 days after the transaction without following standard administrative procedures.

According to the witness, investigators recovered $856,500 from Bashir Maishanu, who allegedly confessed and returned the money to the special investigation team. He argued that Maishanu should also be standing trial alongside Emefiele.

During cross-examination by Emefiele’s counsel, Matthew Burkaa (SAN), Obazee acknowledged that criminal charges had already been filed against the former CBN governor in September 2023, before President Bola Tinubu directed him in December 2023 to prepare charges against Emefiele.

He also admitted that everyone questioned during the investigation, including Emefiele, denied any knowledge of or involvement in the disputed transaction.

Justice Muazu ruled that Obazee, not being a forensic document examiner, was not qualified to authenticate Emefiele’s signature on documents tendered as exhibits before the court.

The case was subsequently adjourned until October 20, 2026, for the adoption of final written addresses by both parties.