Emefiele Trial: Finance Ministry, Accountant-General Deny Knowledge Of ₦124.86bn CBN Withdrawal – Witness Tell Court

The Federal Ministry of Finance was unaware of a ₦124.86 billion withdrawal from the Central Bank of Nigeria, CBN, a senior ministry official told the FCT High Court in Abuja on Tuesday.

Ali Mohammed, Director in the Ministry’s Department of Home Finance and prosecution witness 10, PW10, disclosed this while testifying in the ongoing trial of former CBN Governor, Godwin Emefiele.

Led in evidence by prosecution counsel, Abbas Mohammed, the witness said his ministry received a letter from the investigation team concerning a larger ₦154 billion transaction reportedly withdrawn by the CBN.

Mohammed said he subsequently contacted the three divisions under his supervision to establish whether any was aware of the transaction.

According to him, none of the divisions was privy to the withdrawal, adding that the State and Public Finance Investment Division was the relevant unit because it oversees the CBN.

The witness further told the court that he contacted the Office of the Accountant-General of the Federation, OAGF, through the Permanent Secretary to establish whether it had knowledge of the transaction.

He said the OAGF responded in writing that it was also unaware of the transaction and concluded that the money constituted a direct credit from the CBN.

Explaining why he sought the Accountant-General’s confirmation, Mohammed said the office was the appropriate authority because it serves as the custodian of payments for the Federal Government.

He told the court that he relied on the Accountant-General’s response before preparing a memo and forwarding the relevant documents to the Special Investigator.

The documents, including a letter signed by Mohammed and another signed by the Accountant-General, were subsequently admitted in evidence and marked Exhibits AJ, AK and AL after defence counsel, Olalekan Ojo, SAN, raised no objection.

Explaining the significance of Exhibit AJ, Mohammed said it established that the ₦124.86 billion withdrawal was not known to the Federal Ministry of Finance.

He also read a portion of the document which stated that the amount had been classified in the ministry’s records as a “direct debit letter by the Central Bank of Nigeria.”

Asked to explain the expression, the witness said, “Direct debit means it was withdrawn from the Central Bank of Nigeria without recourse of any office in Nigeria.”

Mohammed added that, ordinarily, the Office of the Accountant-General, which is supervised by the Ministry of Finance, would be directed before such a withdrawal could be made.

He said the documents before him did not indicate that the Federal Ministry of Finance had directed the OAGF to make the withdrawal, particularly from the Consolidated Revenue Fund.

Earlier, another prosecution witness, Hamisu Abdullahi, Director of Banking Services at the CBN, continued his testimony in the case.

Abdullahi identified an email generated from the CBN’s computer system which, according to him, conveyed a directive from the then CBN governor to recover ₦1.4 billion in debit from the receivables account through the Consolidated Revenue Fund.

The prosecution tendered the email and its certificate of compliance, which Justice Maryanne Anineh admitted and marked Exhibits AH1 and AH2 after the defence raised no objection.

Abdullahi was thereafter discharged from the witness box.

Emefiele is being prosecuted by the Economic and Financial Crimes Commission, EFCC, on a four-count charge bordering on alleged disobedience to lawful directives and unlawful acts allegedly connected with the controversial naira redesign policy.

Justice Anineh adjourned the matter until Wednesday, October 7, 2026, for cross-examination and continuation of the trial.