Jim Obazee, a prosecution witness for the Economic and Financial Crimes Commission (EFCC), has appeared before the Federal Capital Territory (FCT) high court in the ongoing trial of Godwin Emefiele, former governor of the Central Bank of Nigeria (CBN).
Obazee testified before Hamza Muazu, the presiding judge, on
Friday.
In July 2023, President Bola Tinubu appointed Obazee, former
chief executive officer (CEO) of the Financial Reporting Council of Nigeria
(FRCN), as a special investigator to probe the activities of the apex bank and
related entities.
In the report submitted to Tinubu, the special
investigator’s panel accused Emefiele of approving the “unlawful removal” of
$6.23 million from the vault of the apex bank’s Abuja office.
The anti-graft agency is prosecuting Emefiele on an amended
20-count charge, bordering on conferring corrupt advantages, conspiracy,
criminal breach of trust, forgery, and obtaining by false pretences to the tune
of $6.23 million.
THE TESTIMONY
Dele Oyewale, EFCC spokesperson, released details of
Obazee’s testimony in a statement posted on the anti-graft agency’s X account
following Friday’s court proceedings.
Led in evidence by Rotimi Oyedepo, counsel to the EFCC,
Obazee told the court that $6.2 million allegedly earmarked for foreign
election observer mission during the 2023 election was fraudulently withdrawn
from the CBN’s Abuja branch.
The EFCC witness said the withdrawal pushed the CBN’s dollar
account meant for internal staff and ministries, departments, and agencies
(MDAs) into a negative balance of N2.858 billion.
Obazee said the money left the Abuja branch of the bank on
February 3, 2023, without proper documentation of the receiving staff.
He added the transaction should have been flagged in the
CBN’s 2022 financial statement, which was signed in May 2025, and should have
been identified by external auditors, Ernst & Young as well as the bank’s
internal auditors.
The investigator told the court that CBN’s bank verification
number (BVN) portal was non-functional for more than a month in the period
leading up to the withdrawal, making it difficult for the recipient of the fund
to present identification before collecting the money.
The witness said a letter from former President Muhammadu
Buhari to Boss Mustapha, then secretary to the government of the federation
(SGF), authorised the withdrawal of funds from the CBN for election observer
logistics.
Obazee said a follow-up letter from Mustapha to Emefiele
introduced Jibril Abubakar and authorised him to collect the money on behalf of
the federal government.
He added that a letter from the CBN’s director of banking
supervision to the branch controller authorised the release of the funds and
identified the individual to collect them.
Obazee said the fund left the CBN vault without delivering
any economic benefit to the federal government, the CBN, or any foreign
election observer mission.
He said there is no record showing that election observers
ever received the funds.
“The money was actually taken, but did not flow to the
supposed beneficiaries,” he said.
The witness said Emefiele’s failure to flag the negative
balance pointed to his awareness of the alleged fraudulent transaction.
Obazee said part of the money was recovered from one Bashir
Maishanu, whom he said confessed to the crime and returned $856,500 to the
special investigative team.
He added that the former AGF, whom he said he interviewed
personally, could not explain why the $6.2 million transaction was omitted from
his handover notes before leaving office in May 2023.
During cross-examination by Matthew Burkaa, defence counsel,
the witness said all the persons interviewed by the special investigative team,
including Emefiele, denied any involvement in or knowledge of the transaction.
The case was adjourned until October 20, 2026, for adoption
of final addresses, while the defence said it would file a no-case submission
on behalf of Emefiele.
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