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From Sola Ojo, Abuja
The trial of former Central Bank of Nigeria Governor, Godwin Emefiele, took a dramatic turn on Monday as a prosecution witness alleged that $6.23 billion was unlawfully moved from the apex bank under the pretext of funding foreign observers for the 2023 general elections.
Testifying before Justice Hamza Muazu at the Federal Capital Territory High Court in Maitama, Abuja, the witness, Chinedu Eneanya, said investigations uncovered that the funds were released based on documents bearing forged signatures of the late former President Muhammadu Buhari and former Secretary to the Government of the Federation, Boss Mustapha.
Eneanya, who appeared as the 13th prosecution witness, told the court that forensic analysis confirmed the signatures on the approval documents were not authentic.
He added that several individuals linked to the transactions were questioned, while key documents were retrieved from the Central Bank.
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During cross-examination, the witness disclosed that five officials of the apex bank who endorsed the internal memo authorising the release of the funds had since been suspended.
Meanwhile, defence counsel, Matthew Burkaa (SAN), accused the prosecution of delaying the trial and sought to have its case closed if it failed to produce its remaining witnesses at the next hearing.
However, prosecuting counsel, Rotimi Oyedepo (SAN), countered that efforts to secure the witnesses currently outside the court’s jurisdiction were ongoing.
Justice Muazu directed both parties to reserve their arguments on the application until final addresses and instructed the prosecution to work with the court registrar to issue subpoenas.
The case was adjourned to April 28, 2026, for continuation of trial.
