A Director in the Federal Ministry of Finance, Ali Mohammed, has told the Federal Capital Territory High Court in Abuja that the N124.86 billion withdrawn by the Central Bank of Nigeria (CBN) from the Federal Government’s Consolidated Revenue Account was neither traced to former CBN Governor Godwin Emefiele nor authorised by the Ministry of Finance.
Mohammed, Director of Home Finance in the ministry, made the disclosure while testifying as the 10th prosecution witness in the Economic and Financial Crimes Commission (EFCC) trial of Emefiele before Justice Maryanne Anenih.
The witness said neither the Ministry of Finance nor the Office of the Accountant-General of the Federation (OAGF) was aware of the transaction when it occurred. He also said documents relating to the withdrawal did not indicate that Emefiele was a signatory to the Federal Government account or that he personally authorised the debit.
Led in evidence by EFCC counsel, Abbas Mohammed, the witness said the ministry became aware of the transaction after receiving an inquiry from investigators concerning a larger sum of about N154 billion allegedly withdrawn by the CBN.
He said he contacted the three divisions under his Department of Home Finance — State and Public Finance, Trade, and Banking and Other Financial Institutions — to determine whether any had knowledge of the transaction.
“None of the three divisions was privy to the transaction,” Mohammed told the court.
He explained that the State and Public Finance Division was particularly relevant because it oversees the CBN.
The witness said he subsequently wrote, through the Permanent Secretary, to the Office of the Accountant-General of the Federation to establish whether it had any record or knowledge of the withdrawal.
According to him, the OAGF replied that it was unaware of the transaction.
Mohammed said the transaction was subsequently classified in the ministry’s records as a direct debit by the CBN.
Explaining the meaning of the classification, he said it meant the funds were withdrawn by the apex bank without recourse to any government office.
“Direct debit means it was withdrawn from the Central Bank of Nigeria without recourse of any office in Nigeria,” he said.
During cross-examination by Emefiele’s counsel, Olalekan Ojo, SAN, Mohammed told the court that the N124.86 billion was not traced to Emefiele’s account.
He also said the former CBN governor was not a signatory to the Consolidated Revenue Account from which the money was withdrawn.
According to the witness, none of the three letters exchanged between the Ministry of Finance and the OAGF suggested that Emefiele authorised the debit.
He further said the documents did not establish that the Ministry of Finance had directed the Accountant-General to effect the withdrawal.
Mohammed said the ministry did not subsequently take any action concerning the transaction beyond informing the Special Investigator that it had no knowledge of it.
He also told the court that he had no interaction with the Special Investigator who investigated the CBN under Emefiele.
The witness said he was invited by the EFCC in connection with the N124.86 billion transaction but was not interrogated about the circumstances surrounding the withdrawal and was not asked to make a statement.
He added that EFCC operatives did not show him any document linking Emefiele to the withdrawal. BBusiness Times
When asked about the suggestion that the money was used, on the directive of former President Muhammadu Buhari, to subsidise the Hajj pilgrimage, Mohammed said he was not aware of the circumstances surrounding the withdrawal.
He also told the court that he was unaware of whether Buhari obtained National Assembly approval for the use of Ways and Means financing between 2016 and 2023.
The prosecution tendered correspondence between the Ministry of Finance and the OAGF concerning the transaction.
The documents were admitted without objection from the defence and marked Exhibits AJ, AK and AL by Justice Anenih.
Mohammed said Exhibit AJ showed that the Ministry of Finance was not aware of the N124.86 billion withdrawal, while another exhibit contained confirmation from the Accountant-General’s office that it had no knowledge of the transaction.
He said the original documents had been forwarded to the Special Investigator, prompting the prosecution to tender certified true copies.
Earlier, the prosecution completed the testimony of its ninth witness, Hamisu Abdullahi, a Director of Banking Services at the CBN.
Abdullahi identified an email generated from the CBN’s computer system which, according to him, conveyed a directive from the then CBN governor to recover N1.4 billion in debit from a receivables account from the Consolidated Revenue Fund.
The email and its accompanying certificate of compliance were admitted in evidence as Exhibits AH1 and AH2 after the defence raised no objection.
Abdullahi was subsequently discharged from the witness box. BBusinessday NG
Emefiele is facing a four-count charge filed by the EFCC over alleged disobedience to lawful directives and unlawful acts allegedly causing injury to members of the public in connection with the controversial naira redesign policy.
In charge No. FCT/HC/CR/264/2024, the former CBN governor was, among other allegations, accused of approving the printing of 375.52 million colour-swapped N1,000 notes at a cost of N11.052 billion between October 19, 2022 and March 5, 2023, allegedly without the recommendation of the CBN Board and the requisite approval of the President.
Emefiele pleaded not guilty to the charges.
The trial remains ongoing.