A federal government special investigator on Friday told the Federal Capital Territory High Court in Abuja that the alleged fraudulent withdrawal of $6.23 million from the Central Bank of Nigeria (CBN) pushed one of the bank’s special dollar accounts into a negative balance.
Testifying as the 15th prosecution witness in the trial of former CBN Governor, Godwin Emefiele, Jim Osayande Obazee said the transaction left the account used for internal staff and Ministries, Departments and Agencies (MDAs) with a negative balance of ₦2.858 billion.
The Economic and Financial Crimes Commission (EFCC) is prosecuting Emefiele on an amended 20-count charge bordering on conspiracy, criminal breach of trust, forgery, obtaining by false pretences and alleged conferment of corrupt advantages involving $6.23 million.
Led in evidence by prosecution counsel Rotimi Oyedepo (SAN), Obazee said he was appointed by President Bola Tinubu in July 2023 to investigate the CBN and related government entities.
According to the witness, the dollar withdrawal was processed without the required naira backing, a breach which should have triggered internal scrutiny by the CBN’s accounting authorities.
He further told the court that the cash left the CBN’s Abuja branch on February 3, 2023, without proper documentation identifying the officer who received it. He added that the transaction should have appeared in the bank’s audited financial statements and been detected by both internal auditors and external auditors.
Obazee also claimed the CBN’s Bank Verification Number (BVN) platform was unavailable for more than a month before the withdrawal, making it impossible for the recipient to complete normal identification procedures.
He said the investigation began after his team examined internal control weaknesses within the apex bank and interviewed audit personnel.
The witness told the court that former President Muhammadu Buhari had approved the release of funds for election observer logistics through a letter to former Secretary to the Government of the Federation, Boss Mustapha. He added that Mustapha later wrote to Emefiele authorising Jibril Abubakar to collect the funds, while another approval came from the CBN’s Director of Banking Supervision.
However, Obazee maintained that investigators found no evidence that the funds reached any foreign election observer mission.
“The money was actually taken, but did not flow to the supposed beneficiaries,” he told the court.
He also testified that part of the money had been recovered from Bashir Maishanu, who allegedly returned $856,500 after confessing to the investigators.
During cross-examination, defence counsel Matthew Burkaa (SAN) established that criminal charges had already been filed against Emefiele in September 2023 before Obazee’s appointment to investigate the matter later that year.
The witness also confirmed that all those interviewed, including Emefiele, denied involvement in or knowledge of the transaction.
Justice Hamza Muazu ruled during proceedings that Obazee, not being a forensic document examiner, could not authenticate signatures on documents tendered before the court.
The case was adjourned until October 20, 2026, for the adoption of final written addresses. Defence counsel also indicated that Emefiele intends to file a no-case submission.
