The trial of former Governor of the Central Bank of Nigeria (CBN), Godwin Emefiele, continued on Wednesday, January 21, 2026, before Justice Yusuf Halilu of the Federal Capital Territory (FCT) High Court, Maitama, Abuja, with detailed testimonies on alleged cash movements and bank transactions running into billions of naira.

Emefiele is being prosecuted by the Economic and Financial Crimes Commission (EFCC) on an eight-count charge bordering on criminal breach of trust, conspiracy, forgery and unlawful possession of properties suspected to be proceeds of crime, valued at N7,831,002,396.

At the resumed hearing, the third prosecution witness (PW3), Richard Agulu, a staff member of the Nigerian Communications Commission (NCC) and former Zenith Bank employee, told the court how he allegedly disbursed large sums of money on Emefiele’s instructions while working at the bank.

Led in evidence by prosecuting counsel, Rotimi Oyedepo, SAN, Agulu said he worked at Zenith Bank from July 2007 to March 2023 before joining the NCC in 2023.

He recalled that Emefiele, who was formerly the Managing Director of Zenith Bank, frequently visited Abuja branches before leaving the bank in 2014 following his appointment as CBN Governor.

The witness said he knew one Eric Ocheme, a former Zenith Bank staff member who later moved to the CBN to serve as Emefiele’s personal assistant, adding that Eric often acted as a link between him and the defendant.

“My Lord, Mr. Eric, as the personal assistant to the defendant, used to run errands for him. On the defendant’s instruction, I used to receive cash from Eric and disburse same when needed,” Agulu testified.

He explained that the cash was either kept in the bank’s vault or deposited into selected accounts, stressing that the funds were received on behalf of Emefiele but were not paid into his personal account.

Agulu identified Exhibit B as the account of Ifeabigo Integrated Services, belonging to his friend, Peters Adebayo, an Abuja-based businessman.

He told the court that between 2020 and 2022, he lodged several sums into the account using funds allegedly received from Eric on Emefiele’s behalf.

He gave a breakdown of multiple cash deposits and transfers between February and August 2021, involving transactions running into hundreds of millions of naira.

According to him, on August 25, 2021, acting on Emefiele’s instructions through Eric, he transferred N600 million and N300 million from the Ifeabigo account to MG Properties Limited.

Agulu also identified Exhibit C as the account of Kelvito Integrated Services, from which another N700 million was transferred to MG Properties Limited on the same day.

“In total, I transferred N1.6 billion to MG Properties Limited on the defendant’s instruction through Mr. Eric,” he told the court, adding that he did not know the purpose of the transfers at the time.

The witness further narrated how large cash withdrawals and deposits continued into late 2021 and early 2022, including structured withdrawals allegedly made for Eric.

He said he later confirmed the transactions when questioned by the EFCC during its investigation.

Under cross-examination, Agulu acknowledged that only account holders or authorised signatories could approve withdrawals, noting that the withdrawals in question were authenticated by the account owners.

Earlier, the EFCC also presented its second witness, PW2, Olomotam Egoro, a compliance officer with Access Bank. Egoro told the court that in June 2025, Access Bank received a request from the EFCC seeking details of the account of Ace Frozen Foods Ventures.

He said the bank provided the requested documents, which were tendered and admitted as Exhibit E. Under cross-examination, Egoro confirmed that Emefiele’s name did not appear in the account documents and that the mandate holders were Kamaru Lasisi and Raphael Ibhafidon Uguomore.

Justice Halilu adjourned the matter to February 16, 2026, for continuation of trial and further cross-examination. (The Guardian)

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