Witness tells court how ₦1.6bn was allegedly moved on Emefiele’s instructions

The trial of former Central Bank of Nigeria (CBN) Governor, Godwin Emefiele, continued on Wednesday before Justice Yusuf Halilu of the Federal Capital Territory High Court, Maitama, Abuja, as a prosecution witness narrated alleged cash transactions and bank transfers amounting to over ₦1.6 billion, said to have been carried out on Emefiele’s instructions.

Emefiele is facing an eight-count charge filed by the Economic and Financial Crimes Commission (EFCC), bordering on criminal breach of trust, conspiracy, forgery and unlawful possession of properties allegedly linked to proceeds of crime totalling ₦7.83 billion.

Testifying as Prosecution Witness Three (PW3), Richard Agulu, a staff member of the Nigerian Communications Commission (NCC), told the court that he worked with Zenith Bank between July 2007 and March 2023 and served at several branches, including the Maitama branch in Abuja.

Led in evidence by EFCC counsel, Rotimi Oyedepo, SAN, Agulu recalled that Emefiele was formerly Managing Director of Zenith Bank before his appointment as CBN Governor in 2014. He also said he knew Eric Ocheme, a former Zenith Bank staff member who later became Emefiele’s personal assistant at the CBN.

Agulu told the court that while at Zenith Bank, he received and disbursed cash on Emefiele’s behalf based on instructions conveyed through Ocheme, adding that the funds were either kept in the bank’s vault or deposited into specific accounts, but not into Emefiele’s personal account.

He identified Exhibit B as the account of Ifeabigo Integrated Services, belonging to his friend, Peters Adebayo, and said that between 2020 and 2022, he lodged multiple cash sums and transfers into the account using funds received on Emefiele’s behalf. He provided a breakdown of transactions between February and August 2021 involving large cash deposits and electronic transfers.

According to the witness, on August 25, 2021, acting on instructions from Emefiele through Ocheme, he transferred ₦600 million and ₦300 million from the Ifeabigo Integrated Services account to MG Properties Limited. He also said a further ₦700 million was transferred the same day from the Kelvito Integrated Services account, bringing the total transferred to ₦1.6 billion. “In total, I transferred ₦1.6 billion to MG Properties Limited on the defendant’s instruction through Mr Eric,” the witness said.

Agulu added that similar transactions continued through late 2021 and into January 2022, including structured cash withdrawals handed over to Ocheme. He said he did not know the purpose of the ₦1.6 billion transfer and later confirmed the transactions when questioned by the EFCC.

Earlier, Prosecution Witness Two, Olomotam Egoro, a compliance officer with Access Bank, told the court that the bank supplied documents requested by the EFCC on the Ace Frozen Foods Ventures account, adding under cross-examination that Emefiele’s name did not appear in the records. Justice Halilu adjourned the case to February 16, 2026, for continuation of trial and further cross-examination.