Witness: 6.23M Naira CBN Withdrawal Forged in Emefiele Trial

A prosecution witness testified Monday at the Federal Capital Territory High Court in Maitama, Abuja, that 6.23 million naira was withdrawn from the Central Bank of Nigeria's vault under the false pretext of funding foreign observers for the 2023 general elections, during the ongoing trial of former CBN Governor Godwin Emefiele.

Chinedu Eneanya, an assistant commander with the Economic and Financial Crimes Commission and the 13th prosecution witness, told Justice Hamza Muazu that his investigative team uncovered the transaction. "The investigation revealed that the money of 6.23 million was removed from the coffers of the CBN for purported funding of the foreign observer of the 2023 election," Eneanya said. He added that individuals linked to the withdrawal were interviewed and documents authorizing the release were recovered from the CBN. Forensic examinations confirmed that signatures attributed to former President Muhammadu Buhari and former Secretary to the Government of the Federation Boss Mustapha on those documents were forged.

The EFCC is prosecuting Emefiele on a 20-count amended charge including criminal breach of trust, forgery, abuse of office, conspiracy and...