John Ogah, a former secretary at the Central Bank of Nigeria (CBN), testified before the Ikeja Special Offenses Court on Wednesday about the alleged deposit of funds into his niece’s bank account by Godwin Emefiele, the immediate former governor of the central bank.
Mr. Emefiele is on trial for misusing his position and committing fraud totaling $4.5 billion and N2.8 billion during his tenure.
The Economic and Financial Crimes Commission (EFCC) is prosecuting him.
Henry Omoile, a co-defendant of Mr. Emefiele, is on trial for three counts pertaining to the illegal receipt of gifts by agents.
Mr. Ogah, the sixth prosecution witness, continued to testify on Wednesday. He was led in testimony by EFCC counsel Rotimi Oyedepo (SAN). He claims that the niece of the first defendant is a Hannah Emefiele. He informed the court that, at Mr. Emefiele’s request, he (Mr. Ogah) gave an account officer instructions to deposit funds into Ms. Hannah’s bank account. The witness stated that he followed Mr. Emefiele’s directions in every email he sent to the bank account officer. “I have my boss’s instructions to send the emails to the account officer, and all of his instructions were followed,” Mr. Ogah stated.
My boss’s niece is Hannah Emefiele. Because my employer sent me emails with instructions, which I transmitted to the account officer, Hannah is one of the fund’s beneficiaries,” Mr. Ogah stated.
Olalekan Ojo (SAN), Mr. Emefiele’s attorney, questioned the necessity of bringing up Ms. Hannah’s name, though.
Mr. Ojo contended that the charge contained no mention of Ms. Hannah’s name. Additionally, he asserted that the EFCC mentioned the name when providing testimony.
Although Ms. Hannah was not named in the accusation, EFCC attorney Mr. Oyedepo responded that she was accused of profiting from the alleged fraud.
The first defendant is responsible for some of the revenues, which is why the name was chosen,” he explained.
The witness informed the court during Mr. Emefiele’s attorney’s cross-examination that he maintained documents during his tenure as the former governor’s secretary.
According to him, the records were kept for reference.
Mr. Ojo questioned the witness on whether he gave the EFCC the records. According to the witness, he did not present the anti-graft agency with any documentation.
99 percent of the directives he got from Mr. Emefiele, he claimed, were not in writing. The witness also stated that he did not have any personal knowledge of the alleged fraud and was only testifying based on the documents he maintained. Additionally, he emphasized that verbal directives from Mr. Emefiele were common practice during his time as secretary.
