The Federal Capital Territory (FCT) high court in Abuja was informed by a prosecution witness in the trial of Godwin Emefiele, the former governor of the Central Bank of Nigeria (CBN), that falsified documents were used to take $6.23 million from the top bank.
In the case brought by the Economic and Financial Crimes Commission (EFCC) against Emefiele, Bashirudden Maishanu, an assistant director at the CBN and the eleventh prosecution witness (PW11), testified before presiding judge Hamza Muazu on Thursday.
Led in testimony by Rotimi Oyedepo, EFCC director of public prosecutions, Maishanu said the cash were removed from the Garki branch of the CBN on February 8, 2023.
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The witness informed the court that in January 2023, a man named Alhaji Ahmed approached him, claiming to be employed by a special committee in the office of the secretary to the government of the federation (SGF).
The witness claimed that Ahmed was instructed to meet with Emefiele on certain transactions being handled at the bank by Eric Ocheme, who was named as Emefiele’s personal assistant during his tenure as CBN governor.
Maishanu claimed that Ahmed subsequently informed him that the payment had received presidential sanction and that obtaining Emefiele’s approval was the next stage.
He continued by saying that Ahmed asked for the money to be paid in cash and urged him to either go with the payments or suggest someone else.
According to Maishanu’s testimony, the funds were cashed at the CBN branch in Garki on February 8, 2023. The witness also informed the court that the $6.23 million was intended to pay for election-related costs, such as election observer fees.
He claimed that Ahmed allegedly took $2.5 million in cash following the withdrawal, leaving him and two other people with an additional $2.5 million.
According to Maishanu, the CBN uses a disciplinary committee in accordance with the bank’s human resource policy to establish consequences for misbehaving employees. Depending on the seriousness of the act, these sanctions might range from warnings to dismissal.
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He claims that the CBN board did not take any disciplinary action against him on the issue.
The witness claimed he did not directly observe the approval being signed during defence attorney Matthew Burkaa’s cross-examination, but he maintained that the documents were fake.
“I am sure because the CBN has rigorous processes for payment, especially for cash transactions of that value,” he said.
Maishanu further informed the court that all authorities involved in the withdrawal could be located using internal records, pointing out that identifiable signatures are present at every stage of the procedure.
The witness acknowledged that he did not monitor the elections in 2023 and said that he was first unaware that the payments were fraudulent.
Maishanu described the event as a “set-up,” adding that he later discovered fraudulent documents pertaining to the purchase and took personal responsibility for his involvement.
The judge adjourned the matter until January 30, 2026, for continuation of trial.
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