Segun Atanda/
ABUJA — A prosecution witness in the ongoing trial of former Central Bank of Nigeria (CBN) Governor, Godwin Emefiele, has told the Federal Capital Territory High Court that the alleged fraudulent withdrawal of $6.23 million meant for foreign election observers pushed the apex bank’s special dollar account into a negative balance of ₦2.86 billion.
The 15th prosecution witness, Jim Osayande Obazee, made the disclosure while testifying before Justice Hamza Muazu in Abuja.
Obazee, who was appointed by President Bola Ahmed Tinubu to investigate the CBN and related government entities, said the controversial withdrawal was made from the bank’s Abuja branch on February 3, 2023, without the required naira backing for dollar transactions.
According to him, the transaction forced the CBN’s dollar account for internal staff and Ministries, Departments and Agencies (MDAs) into a negative balance of ₦2,858,150,196.42, a discrepancy he said should have immediately triggered an internal investigation by Emefiele and the bank’s chief accounting officer.
Led in evidence by the Director of Public Prosecutions, Rotimi Oyedepo, SAN, the witness said the money was released without proper documentation identifying the recipient and should have been reflected in the bank’s financial statements and detected by both its internal auditors and external auditors, Ernst & Young.
He further revealed that the CBN’s Bank Verification Number (BVN) portal was non-functional for more than a month before the withdrawal, making it impossible to properly identify whoever collected the funds.
“Nobody will allow you leave the bank until the account is balanced,” Obazee told the court, insisting that Emefiele, as the bank’s chief accounting officer and an experienced banker, ought to have flagged the irregularities.
The witness explained that his investigative team uncovered the alleged fraud while probing weaknesses in the CBN’s internal control system and interviewing audit personnel.
He told the court that although former President Muhammadu Buhari authorised the release of funds for election observer logistics through a letter to former Secretary to the Government of the Federation, Boss Mustapha, subsequent documentation authorising one Jibril Abubakar to collect the money did not justify how the funds were ultimately disbursed.
Obazee further alleged that the bank official who processed the payment was transferred to the CBN Governor’s Office just 56 days after the transaction without following standard administrative procedures.
He maintained that the funds never reached any foreign election observer mission or delivered any benefit to either the Federal Government or the CBN.
“The money was actually taken, but did not flow to the supposed beneficiaries,” he testified, adding that investigators found no record showing election observers ever received the money.
The witness also told the court that part of the funds had been recovered from one Bashir Maishanu, who allegedly confessed and returned $856,500, while suggesting that several other officials, including former SGF Boss Mustapha, members of the CBN Board and the Abuja branch manager, should also have faced prosecution.
Under cross-examination by defence counsel Matthew Burkaa, SAN, Obazee acknowledged that criminal charges had already been filed against Emefiele in September 2023 before he was officially mandated in December 2023 to investigate the matter.
He also admitted that every person interviewed in connection with the disputed withdrawal, including Emefiele, denied involvement in the transaction.
Justice Muazu, during proceedings, ruled that the witness could not authenticate Emefiele’s signature on documentary exhibits because he was not a forensic document examiner.
The court adjourned the case until October 20, 2026, for the adoption of final written addresses, while the defence indicated it would file a no-case submission.
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