In the ongoing trial of former Central Bank of Nigeria (CBN) Governor Godwin Emefiele, a key prosecution witness on Wednesday detailed how he allegedly handled and disbursed over ₦1.6 billion on Emefiele's instructions through intermediaries.
The proceedings took place before Justice Yusuf Halilu at the Federal Capital Territory (FCT) High Court in Maitama, Abuja. Emefiele faces an eight-count charge from the Economic and Financial Crimes Commission (EFCC), including criminal breach of trust, conspiracy, forgery, and unlawful possession of properties worth approximately ₦7.83 billion suspected to be proceeds of crime.
The third prosecution witness (PW3), Richard Agulu now a staff member at the Nigerian Communications Commission (NCC) after serving at Zenith Bank from July 2007 to March 2023 provided the testimony.
He explained that Emefiele, who was Zenith Bank's Managing Director before becoming CBN Governor in 2014, had connections to certain Abuja branches.Agulu testified that Eric Ocheme, a former Zenith Bank employee who later became Emefiele's personal assistant at the CBN, frequently served as the intermediary.
"On the defendant’s instruction, I used to receive cash from Eric and disburse same when needed," Agulu told the court under examination by prosecuting counsel Rotimi Oyedepo, SAN.
He clarified that the funds were not deposited into Emefiele's personal account but were either stored in the bank's vault or placed into selected third-party accounts.
Agulu identified specific accounts involved, including that of Ifeabigo Integrated Services (linked to his friend, Abuja businessman Peters Adebayo) and Kelvito Integrated Services.
He described multiple cash deposits and transfers between 2020 and 2022, with significant activity in 2021.On August 25, 2021, acting on instructions relayed through Ocheme, Agulu said he facilitated transfers totaling ₦1.6 billion to MG Properties Limited: ₦600 million and ₦300 million from the Ifeabigo account, plus ₦700 million from the Kelvito account.
"I did not know the purpose of the transfers at the time," Agulu stated, adding that he only learned details during later EFCC questioning.
The witness also described ongoing large cash withdrawals and structured deposits into late 2021 and early 2022, some allegedly for Ocheme.During cross-examination, Agulu confirmed that withdrawals required approval from account holders or authorized signatories, and the relevant transactions were authenticated accordingly.
Earlier in the hearing, the second prosecution witness (PW2), Olomotam Egoro, a compliance officer at Access Bank, testified about providing EFCC-requested documents in June 2025 related to the account of Ace Frozen Foods Ventures.
Those documents were admitted as Exhibit E. Under cross-examination, Egoro noted that Emefiele's name did not appear in the account records; the mandate holders were Kamaru Lasisi and Raphael Ibhafidon Uguomore.
Justice Halilu adjourned the trial to February 16, 2026, for continuation and further cross-examination.
The case forms part of multiple EFCC prosecutions against Emefiele related to alleged financial misconduct during his tenure.
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