Witness Reveals How Emefiele Transferred Funds To Wife

Witness Reveals How Emefiele Transferred Funds To Wife

An Assistant Manager with Zenith Bank Plc, Mrs. Ifeoma Ogbonnaya, detailed how Mr. Godwin Emefiele, the former Governor of the Central Bank of Nigeria (CBN), transferred funds to his wife, Mrs. Margaret Emefiele……… CONTINUE READING

During a testimony at an Ikeja Special Offences Court on Tuesday, Ogbonnaya explained that Emefiele used the bank to move multimillion-naira sums to his wife.

Emefiele faces charges of abuse of office and alleged fraud involving $4.5 billion and N2.8 billion.

Led in evidence by Mr. Rotimi Oyedepo, SAN, counsel for the Economic and Financial Crimes Commission (EFCC), Ogbonnaya, the fifth prosecution witness, recounted how Emefiele used Zenith Bank to transfer funds to his wife through various companies.

The companies involved included Amswing Resources and Solution, Limelight Dimensional Service Ltd., Omec Support Service Ltd., and Mango Farm.

“Limelight manages the facilities of CBN located at Alakija, and all transactions related to power and maintenance were handled by the vendors,” she said.

Ogbonnaya, who also serves as a Business Relationship Manager and joined the bank in 2006, stated she never directly interacted with the ex-CBN governor but received instructions from his wife to transfer funds from the CBN into their private companies via Zenith Bank.

In addition to Mrs. Emefiele, she received instructions from Mr. John Ogah and Mr. Opeyemi Oludimu, who worked for the Emefieles.

Ogbonnaya managed the various company accounts used for transferring multimillion-naira amounts, noting that Mrs. Margaret Emefiele was the direct beneficiary.

“The companies sent transfer instructions to my email, and Margaret was the beneficial owner of the accounts. All transactions were confirmed by Mrs. Emefiele before processing. She either sent transfer instructions to my official Zenith Bank email or delegated two others to act on her behalf, but I always received her approval,” Ogbonnaya explained.

She revealed specific transactions, including cash flows of N18.9 million and N1.8 million from March 9 to 11, 2015, N43 million on February 22, 2021, N37.3 million on July 21, 2022, N44.6 million on October 21, 2022, and N93.1 million on May 10, 2023, among others.

Ogbonnaya communicated with Mrs. Emefiele via email, phone calls, and WhatsApp to confirm transactions before processing them. The documentation of these transactions was printed from her office desktop computer.