The trial of Godwin Emefiele, the former governor of the Central Bank of Nigeria, CBN, took a dramatic turn on Monday, February 12, 2024, as the first prosecution witness, Ogau Onyeka Michael, spilled the beans on how the ex-CBN boss authorized the payment of $6,230,000 in cash for international election observers in the 2023 general election.
Michael, a former branch controller of the CBN, Abuja branch, was testifying before Justice Hamza Muazu of the Federal Capital Territory High Court, Maitama, Abuja, where Emefiele is facing 20-count amended charges of corruption, conspiracy, breach of trust, forgery, and fraud amounting to $6,230,000.
Under cross-examination by the prosecution counsel, Rotimi Oyedepo, SAN, Michael confirmed that he handled the documents related to the payment, which he said came from the Banking Services Department of the CBN.
He told the court that on January 8, 2023, he received a memo signed by the Director of Banking Services, instructing him to pay $6,230,000 to a staff of the Secretary to the Government of the Federation, who was supposed to be an election observer.
He said: “The memo said that the payment was for election observation and it should be paid in cash in naira. It also said that the money should be refunded by the Federal Ministry of Finance in the second quarter of 2023. The memo had attachments of the approval of the CBN Governor, the SGF, and the President of Nigeria.
“I checked the documents and they looked genuine, so I forwarded them to the head of the Banking Services Unit for payment. Mr. Williams, the head of the unit, made the payment on April 8, 2023, in cash. I can recognize the documents because I signed them too.
The prosecution counsel, Rotimi Oyedepo, SAN, told the court that two of the documents, which bore the approval of the former SGF and the President, were only photocopies and he needed to get the originals from the CBN complex. He pleaded with the court to grant him a 30-minute recess to fetch the documents.
However, his request was opposed by the defence counsel, Mathew Bukka, SAN, who argued that the case had already been scheduled for February 12 and 13, and that the 30 minutes would not be sufficient for Oyedepo to obtain the documents. He urged the court to adjourn the case till February 13, and let the prosecution come prepared.
Justice Hamza Muazu, after hearing both sides, decided to adjourn the case till February 13, 2024, for the resumption of the trial.
