ABUJA: Fresh revelations have emerged in the ongoing trial of former Central Bank of Nigeria (CBN) Governor, Godwin Emefiele, as a prosecution witness told a Federal Capital Territory High Court in Abuja that an alleged fraudulent withdrawal of $6.23 million pushed one of the apex bank’s special dollar accounts into a negative balance exceeding ₦2.8 billion.
The testimony was given on Friday by Jim Obazee, the 15th prosecution witness and former Federal Government special investigator assigned to probe the operations of the Central Bank.
Emefiele is facing a 20-count amended charge filed by the Economic and Financial Crimes Commission (EFCC), which accuses him of conspiracy, criminal breach of trust, forgery, obtaining money by false pretence and conferring corrupt advantage in connection with the disputed funds.
While testifying before Justice Hamza Muazu, Obazee told the court that the money was withdrawn from the CBN’s Abuja branch on February 3, 2023, allegedly for a foreign election observer mission during the general elections.
According to him, the withdrawal was processed without the mandatory naira backing required for foreign currency transactions, causing the bank’s internal dollar account used for Ministries, Departments and Agencies (MDAs) and staff transactions to fall into a deficit of ₦2,858,150,196.42.
He argued that such an irregular transaction should have immediately raised concerns within the bank and prompted an investigation by Emefiele, who was the CBN Governor and chief accounting officer at the time.
Obazee further alleged that investigators found no proper documentation identifying the official who eventually collected the cash from the CBN vault.
He also claimed the transaction should have been reflected in the bank’s audited financial statements and detected by both internal and external auditors during routine reviews.
The witness disclosed that investigators discovered the transaction while examining weaknesses in the bank’s internal control systems and interviewing audit personnel.
The court also heard that the CBN’s Bank Verification Number (BVN) verification portal was reportedly non-functional for more than one month before the withdrawal.
According to Obazee, this made it impossible to verify the identity of whoever collected the funds, describing the situation as a serious breach of banking procedures.
He insisted that no responsible banker would allow such a transaction to proceed without questioning why an account had entered a negative balance.
Obazee testified that investigators found a letter allegedly issued by former President Muhammadu Buhari authorising funds for election observer logistics.
He added that another letter from former Secretary to the Government of the Federation, Boss Mustapha, introduced Jibril Abubakar as the individual authorised to receive the money.
The witness further stated that a separate approval from the CBN’s Director of Banking Supervision instructed officials at the Abuja branch to release the funds.
According to Obazee, investigators found no evidence that the money was ever delivered to any foreign election observer mission.
He told the court that the transaction produced no measurable benefit for either the Federal Government or the Central Bank.
“The money was withdrawn, but it never got to the intended beneficiaries,” he testified.
The witness also alleged that Emefiele’s failure to question the negative account balance suggested prior knowledge of the transaction.
Obazee informed the court that investigators recovered $856,500 from Bashir Maishanu, who allegedly admitted involvement in the transaction and returned part of the money.
He argued that Maishanu, members of the CBN board and the Abuja branch manager should also face prosecution over the matter.
The witness further claimed that Boss Mustapha could not explain why the disputed transaction was omitted from his official handover notes after leaving office in May 2023.
During cross-examination, defence counsel Matthew Burkaa (SAN) questioned the sequence of events surrounding the investigation.
Obazee admitted that criminal charges had already been filed against Emefiele in September 2023 before President Bola Tinubu directed him in December 2023 to carry out a wider investigation into alleged offences linked to the former CBN governor.
He also acknowledged that everyone interviewed during the investigation, including Emefiele, denied any knowledge or involvement in the disputed withdrawal.
The witness confirmed that Emefiele was questioned while in custody at the Kuje Correctional Centre.
Justice Hamza Muazu ruled that Obazee could not authenticate Emefiele’s signature on documents already tendered before the court because he was not qualified as a forensic document examiner.
The judge subsequently adjourned the case until October 20, 2026, for the adoption of final written addresses.
Defence counsel indicated that the legal team intends to file a no-case submission, arguing that the prosecution has failed to establish sufficient evidence requiring Emefiele to open his defence.
