CBN $6.2 Million Trial: Investigator Tells Court Emefiele Knew Of Alleged Fraudulent Withdrawal

A witness for the prosecution, Jim Obazee, told the Federal Capital Territory High Court in Abuja on Friday that one of the special dollar accounts of the Central Bank of Nigeria (CBN) had a negative balance of N2.858bn after the alleged fraudulent withdrawal of $6.2m from the apex bank.

Obazee, the 15th prosecution witness, testified in the trial of former CBN governor, Godwin Emefiele before Justice Hamza Muazu.

Emefiele is being prosecuted by the Economic and Financial Crimes Commission (EFCC) on an amended 20-count charge bordering on alleged conspiracy, criminal breach of trust, forgery, obtaining by false pretence and conferment of corrupt advantages involving $6.23m.

Led in evidence by the Director of Public Prosecutions of the Federation, Rotimi Oyedepo (SAN), Obazee allegedly released the money from the CBN Abuja branch on February 3, 2023 as funds for foreign election observer logistics during the 2023 general election.

According to him, the withdrawal was made without naira cover as required for dollar transactions which had pushed the account to a negative balance of N2,858,150,196.42.

“Emefiele and the chief accounting officer of the bank should have seen the development,” he said.

“You can’t walk out of the bank until you balance the account,” he said.

The witness said that the transaction did not leave the bank with the proper documentation of the receiving officer.

Obazee told the court that there was no evidence that the funds ever reached foreign election observers or had any economic benefit for the Federal Government or the CBN.

The money was actually taken, but it didn’t go to the intended beneficiaries,” he said.

His team began its investigation by probing internal control weaknesses at the apex bank and questioning officials of internal audit, he said.

He said a letter written by former President Muhammadu Buhari to the then Secretary to the Government of the Federation (SGF), Boss Mustapha, authorised the release of funds for election observers logistics.

He said a subsequent letter from Mustapha to Emefiele introduced one Jibril Abubakar as the person to collect the money.

The witness also said that the CBN’s Bank Verification Number (BVN) portal was down for over a month before the withdrawal, thus it was not possible to verify the identity of the person that withdrew the money.

He also alleged that the CBN official that received and processed the payment documents was redeployed to the governor’s office 56 days after the transaction, and not through the normal procedure.

Obazee said some of the money was recovered from one Bashir Maishanu who allegedly confessed to the crime and handed $856,500 over to the special investigation team.

He said Maishanu should be tried with Emefiele.

While being cross-examined by Emefiele’s counsel, Matthew Burkaa (SAN), Obazee admitted that criminal charges had already been filed against Emefiele in September 2023, before President Bola Tinubu’s directive in December 2023 for him to prepare charges against the former CBN governor.

He also said all persons interviewed by the special investigation team, including Emefiele, denied any knowledge or involvement in the transaction.

Justice Muazu held that Obazee is not a forensic document examiner and cannot be asked in cross-examination to authenticate Emefiele’s signature on exhibits tendered before the court.

The matter was adjourned to 20.10.2026 for adoption of final addresses.