An EFCC investigator testified that $6.23 million was fraudulently withdrawn from the Central Bank of Nigeria using forged signatures of former President Muhammadu Buhari, though the defense highlighted that former Governor Godwin Emefiele’s own signature was never forensicially tested.
An investigator with the Economic and Financial Crimes Commission (EFCC), Chinedu Eneanya, testified before a Federal Capital Territory High Court on Monday regarding the unauthorized withdrawal of $6.23 million from the Central Bank of Nigeria (CBN) in February 2023. Eneanya, the 13th prosecution witness in the trial of former CBN Governor Godwin Emefiele, alleged that the funds were removed under the guise of funding foreign election observers for the 2023 general elections. He characterized the withdrawal as a “purported” exercise facilitated by documents recovered from the apex bank, asserting that a forensic examination proved the signatures of former President Muhammadu Buhari and former Secretary to the Government of the Federation, Boss Mustapha, were forged.
During the proceedings, the court heard that the $6.23 million was withdrawn in cash in a single day, a claim previously supported by testimony from a former CBN official. Eneanya noted that the commission’s findings identified a coordinated effort to bypass standard protocols through the use of fraudulent authorizations. Describing the gravity of the discovery, he stated that investigations revealed the funds were removed from the apex bank’s coffers for what he described as a “purported” election observer exercise. However, the prosecution’s narrative faced scrutiny during the subsequent cross-examination by the defense.
Under questioning by defense counsel Matthew Burkaa, Eneanya admitted to several significant gaps in the investigation, acknowledging that no forensic test had been conducted on Emefiele’s own signature to link him directly to the forgeries. The investigator also confirmed that while five CBN officials who endorsed the internal memo for the transaction were suspended, none are currently facing trial. Furthermore, when asked if evidence proved the former governor personally received the cash, Eneanya mentioned that a lawyer, Ifeanyi Omeke, claimed to have received money on Emefiele’s behalf, but admitted that the former governor had not been questioned on that specific allegation.
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