A Federal Ministry of Finance director, Dr Ali Mohammed, has told the FCT High Court in Abuja that former Central Bank of Nigeria Governor, Godwin Emefiele, did not authorise the withdrawal of N124.86 billion from the Federal Government’s Consolidated Revenue Account.
Mohammed, who testified as a prosecution witness, also told the court that neither the Minister of Finance nor the Accountant-General of the Federation queried the withdrawal after it occurred.
Emefiele is facing a four-count charge filed by the Economic and Financial Crimes Commission over alleged disobedience to the direction of law and illegal acts causing injury to the public.
The former CBN governor pleaded not guilty to the charges.
The witness, who is a Director of Home Finance at the Federal Ministry of Finance, gave the evidence while being cross-examined by Emefiele’s counsel, Olalekan Ojo, SAN.
Mohammed said the N124.86 billion withdrawn from the Consolidated Revenue Account was not traced to Emefiele’s personal account and that the former CBN governor was not a signatory to the Federal Government account.
He also told the court that he was unaware of the public transactions that led to the withdrawal of the funds by the CBN.
“I was invited by EFCC in respect of the withdrawal of the N124.86 billion, but was neither interrogated on the circumstances that led to the withdrawal nor made any statement in respect of the same during my visit to the commission,” he said.
Mohammed said EFCC operatives did not show him any document linking Emefiele to the withdrawal.
He added that three letters from the Federal Ministry of Finance and the Office of the Accountant-General of the Federation did not identify Emefiele as a signatory to the Consolidated Revenue Account.
“Of the three letters that emanated from the Federal Ministry of Finance and the Office of the Accountant-General, none of the letters suggested the name of Emefiele as a signatory to the consolidated revenue account,” he said.
The witness further said the Ministry of Finance did not write to the CBN under Emefiele requesting the withdrawal of the funds, despite advice from the Accountant-General of the Federation.
He said the letters also did not indicate that Emefiele authorised the debiting of the money from the Federal Government account.
Mohammed told the court that the ministry took no action concerning the withdrawn funds beyond informing the special investigator that it was unaware of the transaction.
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He also said he had no personal interaction with the special investigator appointed to probe the CBN under Emefiele.
Responding to further questions, Mohammed said he was unaware of any approval obtained by the late President Muhammadu Buhari from the National Assembly for the use of Ways and Means between 2016 and 2023.
Earlier in his evidence, the witness narrated how he received a letter from the special investigator appointed by President Bola Tinubu to investigate the CBN under Emefiele and the withdrawal of the N124.86 billion.
Mohammed, who said he supervised three divisions under the Home Finance Unit of the ministry, said he summoned an emergency meeting with the heads of the divisions after receiving the letter.
He said the heads denied knowledge of the alleged withdrawal.
He said he subsequently wrote to the Accountant-General of the Federation through the Permanent Secretary of the ministry, seeking clarification on the transaction.
Mohammed said the Office of the Accountant-General also denied knowledge of the withdrawal and concluded that the N124.86 billion must have been withdrawn by the CBN.
He said the ministry communicated the findings to the special investigator in response to the investigator’s request.
The witness tendered letters from the Ministry of Finance and the Office of the Accountant-General of the Federation, which were admitted as exhibits without objection from Emefiele’s counsel.
Emefiele was separately alleged to have, between October 19, 2022 and March 5, 2023, approved the printing of 375.52 million colour-swapped N1,000 notes at a cost of N11.05 billion without the recommendation of the CBN Board and approval of the President.
The EFCC alleged that the action violated Section 19 of the CBN Act and caused injury to the public.
The commission said the alleged offences contravened Section 123 of the Penal Code, Cap 89, Laws of the Federation, 1990.
After the cross-examination, prosecution counsel Abbas Mohammed asked the court to discharge the witness and adjourn the matter.
Justice Maryanne Anenih adjourned the case until November 26 for continuation of trial.
NAN
