The trial of former Central Bank of Nigeria Governor, Godwin Emefiele, took a new turn on Tuesday as a prosecution witness told the Federal Capital Territory High Court that some suspects confessed to the fraudulent withdrawal of $6.23m from the apex bank.
The 14th prosecution witness, Eloho Okpoziakpo, a Commissioner of Police with the Special Fraud Unit, Lagos, gave the testimony before Justice Hamza Muazu at the Maitama Division of the court on April 28, 2026.
Emefiele is standing trial on an amended 20-count charge bordering on criminal breach of trust, forgery, abuse of office, conspiracy, and obtaining money by false pretence involving $6,230,000. He has pleaded not guilty to all charges.
The Economic and Financial Crimes Commission alleges that the funds, purportedly meant for international election observers during the 2023 general election, were fraudulently withdrawn. The agency also accused Emefiele of conferring corrupt advantages on two firms—April 1616 Nigeria Ltd and Architekon Nigeria Ltd.
Testifying under the guidance of prosecuting counsel, Rotimi Oyedepo (SAN), Okpoziakpo said he was part of a team assigned to support a special investigation led by Jim Obazee, appointed by President Bola Tinubu to probe the CBN and other government entities.
He told the court that his responsibilities included obtaining statements, interrogating suspects, and providing intelligence to aid the investigation.
According to the witness, intelligence reports indicated that the $6.23m was withdrawn from the CBN’s Abuja branch with the approval of the defendant. He added that investigations confirmed the funds were fraudulently obtained.
“Investigation revealed that the money was fraudulently taken because some of the suspects, including one Maishanu, confessed,” he said.
Okpoziakpo further disclosed that the Office of the Secretary to the Government of the Federation denied making any request for funds for election observers, contradicting the initial claim used to justify the withdrawal.
“We wrote to the Office of the Secretary to the Government of the Federation, and they responded, denying such a request,” he added.
The witness also identified several documents already admitted as evidence, including a request for the release of funds (Exhibit PD6) and a purported presidential approval dated January 24, 2023, allegedly issued under former President Muhammadu Buhari.
He told the court that the request was processed and the funds disbursed accordingly.
Okpoziakpo said he personally recovered additional exhibits (PD1 to PD5) from the CBN Abuja branch. He explained that Exhibit PD1 detailed the disbursement of the funds in $100 denominations on February 8, 2023, while Exhibit PD2 was a memo approving the payment from the Director of Banking Services.
Justice Muazu subsequently adjourned the case until July 2, 2026, for continuation of the hearing.
Earlier, the court had issued a subpoena on April 27, 2026, summoning both Okpoziakpo and Obazee to testify. The order directed them to appear on April 28, 2026, and provide evidence related to the charges.
The subpoena also required the witnesses to tender newspaper publications concerning the naira redesign policy, noting their roles in the investigation that led to the charges against the former CBN governor.
