A prosecution witness in the ongoing trial of the immediate
past Governor of the Central Bank of Nigeria, CBN, Godwin Emefiele, on Tuesday
told a High Court of the Federal Capital Territory, FCT, that the redesigned
naira notes were produced locally by the Nigerian Security Printing and Minting
Company, NSPMC, in compliance with late President Muhammadu Buhari’s directive.
Emefiele is being prosecuted by the Economic and Financial
Crimes Commission, EFCC, before Justice Maryann Anenih, sitting at Maitama,
Abuja, on a four-count charge bordering on disobedience to the direction of law
and illegal act causing injury to the public.
In the charge, marked CR/264/2024, Emefiele was, among
others, alleged to have between October 19, 2022 and March 5, 2023, disobeyed
the direction of Section 19 of CBN Act by approving the printing of 375,520,000
pieces of colour swapped N1,000 notes at a total cost of N11,052,068,062
without the recommendation of the CBN Board
and strict approval of the President, Federal Republic of Nigeria, which
caused injury to the public.
The offences allegedly committed by him, according to EFCC,
were against Section 123 of the Penal Code, Cap 89 Laws of the Federation, 1990
and punishable under the same law.
He, however, pleaded not guilty to the charge.
At the resumed hearing in the case on Tuesday, while being
cross examined by the counsel for Emefiele, Olalekan Ojo, SAN, the seventh
prosecution witness, PW7, Chinedu Emere, an EFCC investigator, told the court
that Emefiele wrote a memorandum, dated October 6, 2022, to former President
Buhari seeking approval to redesign, produce and reissue the redesigned N1,000,
N500, N200 and N100 notes.
He said the former President approved the redesign of the
naira notes in his minute on the memorandum but directed that the production of
the notes be done locally.
“The defendant (Emefiele) sought approval of bank notes
attached to the memorandum which had been redesigned already.
“The minute of the former President was that the production
be done. He minuted: ‘Approved. But to be produced locally’,” PW7 told the
court.
According to him, Emefiele stated a number of reasons for
the redesign policy, among which were high counterfeit rate and worsening
shortage of bank notes in circulation, as well as hoarding of naira notes by
members of the public.
The witness added that CBN raised bills of settlement to
Nigerian Security Printing and Minting Company, NSPMC, for the production of
the redesigned notes.
Asked to confirm to the court if the naira notes were
produced by NSPMC, the prosecution witness answered in the affirmative, saying
that, “The Nigerian Security Printing and Minting Company produced the
redesigned notes. This is in compliance with presidential directive for local
production of the Nlnaira notes.”
He, however, told the court that while NSPMC produced the
notes locally, they were redesigned by a foreign company, De La Rue.
He informed the court that CBN in 2023 made payment to De La
Rue in British Pound Sterling for the redesign of the notes, while it made
payment to NSPMC for the production in naira.
The witness further confirmed that De La Rue was the company
that originally designed the naira notes that became subject of redesign,
adding that the features in the notes were also products of the foreign
company.
He told the court that he could not remember if in the
course of investigation any of the deputy governors under Emefiele mentioned to
the EFCC investigation team if any Nigerian company ever designed naira notes
for the Nigerian government, adding that that was not the focus of the
investigation.
The witness added that Buhari eventually launched the
redesigned notes, but he could not remember if the former President raised any
complaints against the redesigned notes.
He informed the court that the EFCC investigation team came
up with an investigative report after its assignment.
Meanwhile, despite the prosecuting counsel, Rotimi Oyedepo,
SAN, objecting to a request by Emefiele’s counsel for the prosecution to make
the investigative report available to the defence, Justice Anenih ordered the
prosecution to avail the defence with the document to facilitate its defence.
She then adjourned further hearing in the case to Tuesday,
February 10, 2026.
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