A prosecution witness on Thursday told the Federal Capital Territory High Court in Abuja that the $6.23 million approved by former Central Bank of Nigeria (CBN) Governor Godwin Emefiele for a purported foreign election observer mission was fraudulently diverted, describing the transaction as “pure theft.”
The witness, Commissioner of Police Okpoziakpo Eloho, appeared before Justice Hamza Muazu as the 14th prosecution witness in the ongoing trial. While being led in evidence by prosecution counsel Rotimi Oyedepo (SAN), Eloho said investigations established that the funds were obtained under the pretext of financing a foreign election observer mission.
According to the witness, the entire $6.23 million was released following Emefiele’s approval.
**“The entire money was released. We saw the approval of the governor,”** he told the court.
Eloho maintained that investigators found the stated purpose of the payment to be a disguise for diverting public funds.
**“It was pure theft. It was stolen, otherwise obtained under false pretence,”** he testified.
The police commissioner also identified a presidential directive on the foreign election observer mission, admitted as Exhibit PD5, but insisted that the investigation concluded the document was part of the alleged fraudulent scheme.
**“Our finding with regards to PD5 is that it is all fraud,”** he said.
He further informed the court that investigators recovered approximately $800,000 from the funds allegedly diverted.
**“I can’t remember the exact figure, but it was about Eight Hundred Thousand United States Dollars,”** Eloho added.
During cross-examination by defence counsel Matthew Burka (SAN), the witness acknowledged that Emefiele, as CBN governor, had authority over the bank’s funds.
He also disclosed that a special investigator interviewed former Secretary to the Government of the Federation Boss Mustapha, who reportedly denied that the signature on one of the key documents tendered in court was his.
Eloho further testified that investigators identified one Jibril Abubakar as the individual who received the $6.23 million. However, he said the identity card Abubakar presented during the transaction was found to be invalid.
**“The staff ID card number does not belong to him. He is not a staff of the SGF. That is what the investigation revealed,”** the witness stated.
Questioned on whether the proper procedures were followed in approving and releasing the funds, Eloho replied that they were not.
**“This document is from the governor to the Director of Banking Services. Protocol was not followed. I presume the procedure would have been for the document to pass through the deputy governor,”** he said.
Following the proceedings, Justice Hamza Muazu adjourned the matter until July 3, 2026, for the continuation of the trial.
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