Emefiele Trial: CBN Withdrew N124.86bn Without Recourse to Any Government Office, Witness Tells Court

A Director in the Federal Ministry of Finance, Ali Mohammed, has told the Federal Capital Territory High Court in Abuja that the Central Bank of Nigeria withdrew N124.86 billion without recourse to any government office.

Mohammed, who testified as the 10th prosecution witness in the ongoing trial of former CBN Governor Godwin Emefiele, said neither the Ministry of Finance nor the Office of the Accountant-General of the Federation was aware of the transaction.

Led in evidence by Economic and Financial Crimes Commission counsel Abbas Mohammed on Tuesday, the witness said he became aware of the transaction after the ministry received a letter from an investigative team concerning the withdrawal of about N154 billion allegedly made by the CBN.

He said he contacted the three divisions under his Department of Home Finance to determine whether they had knowledge of the transaction.

According to Mohammed, the State and Public Finance Investment Division, Trade Division, and Banking and Other Financial Institutions Division were not privy to the withdrawal.

He said the State and Public Finance Investment Division was particularly relevant because it oversees the affairs of the CBN.

Mohammed subsequently wrote, through the Permanent Secretary, to the Office of the Accountant-General of the Federation to establish whether it had records of or knowledge of the transaction.

He said the Accountant-General’s office responded that it was unaware of the withdrawal and classified the transaction as a direct debit by the CBN.

Explaining the meaning of the term in court, Mohammed said a direct debit meant the money was withdrawn from the CBN without recourse to any government office.

He added that the Office of the Accountant-General, which is supervised by the Ministry of Finance, would ordinarily have to receive a directive before such a withdrawal could be made from the Consolidated Revenue Fund.

The prosecution tendered documents exchanged between the Ministry of Finance and the Accountant-General’s office. Defence counsel Olalekan Ojo, SAN, did not object to their admission.

Justice Maryanne Anineh admitted the documents as Exhibits AJ, AK and AL.

Earlier, another prosecution witness, Hamisu Abdullahi, a CBN Director of Banking Services, confirmed an email allegedly conveying a directive from Emefiele to recover N1.4 billion from the Consolidated Revenue Fund.

The email and its certificate of compliance were admitted as Exhibits AH1 and AH2.

The court adjourned the case until Wednesday, October 7, for cross-examination and continuation of the trial.