A prosecution witness on Monday told the Federal Capital Territory (FCT) High Court in Maitama, Abuja, that a total of $6.23 billion was allegedly siphoned from the coffers of the Central Bank of Nigeria under the guise of funding foreign observers for the 2023 general election.
The witness, Chinedu Eneanya, made the disclosure while testifying before Justice Hamza Muazu in the ongoing trial of former CBN Governor, Godwin Emefiele.
Emefiele is being prosecuted by the Economic and Financial Crimes Commission on an amended 20-count charge bordering on criminal breach of trust, forgery, abuse of office, and conspiracy to obtain by false pretence.
Led in evidence by prosecution counsel, Rotimi Oyedepo, SAN, Eneanya, who appeared as the 13th prosecution witness (PW13), told the court that he was part of the investigative team assigned to probe the allegations against the defendant.
According to him, investigations revealed that the $6.23 billion was withdrawn from the apex bank’s coffers purportedly to finance foreign election observers during the 2023 polls.
Eneanya further testified that several individuals linked to the movement of the funds were invited and interviewed during the investigation, while key documents authorising the disbursement were recovered from the CBN.
The witness added that findings from the probe indicated that the signatures of former President Muhammadu Buhari and former Secretary to the Government of the Federation, Boss Mustapha, were allegedly forged to facilitate the release of the funds.
He disclosed that forensic analysis conducted on the documents confirmed that the signatures attributed to the two officials were not genuine.
Under cross-examination by defence counsel, Matthew Burkaa, SAN, Eneanya told the court that five CBN officials who signed the internal memo related to the transaction had been suspended by the bank.
Earlier in the proceedings, Burkaa applied for the foreclosure of the prosecution’s case if it failed to present its remaining two witnesses at the next adjourned date, alleging deliberate delays aimed at frustrating the defence.
However, Oyedepo opposed the application, explaining that the prosecution was not stalling proceedings but was facing challenges securing the attendance of the remaining witnesses, who are reportedly outside the court’s jurisdiction in Benin City and Lagos.
He urged the court not to bar the prosecution from presenting its case.
In his ruling, Justice Muazu advised both parties to reserve their arguments on the application until the stage of final addresses. He also directed the prosecution to liaise with the court registrar to facilitate the issuance of subpoenas for the outstanding witnesses.
The case was subsequently adjourned to Tuesday, April 28, 2026, for continuation of trial.
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