An investigator with the Economic and Financial Crimes Commission (EFCC), Mr Alvan Gurumnaan, on Thursday told an Ikeja Special Offences Court how the embattled former Governor of the Central Bank of Nigeria (CBN), Godwin Emefiele, allegedly acquired multi-billion-naira properties through proxies while in office.
Emefiele is facing a 19-count charge bordering on alleged gratification, corrupt demands and abuse of office, involving transactions valued at $4.5 billion and ₦2.8 billion.
His co-defendant, Henry Omoile, is standing trial on a three-count charge bordering on alleged unlawful acceptance of gifts.
Gurumnaan, while continuing his evidence-in-chief under the examination of the Director of Public Prosecutions (DPP), Mr Rotimi Oyedepo, SAN, revealed that Emefiele’s statement was recorded in the course of an intelligence-led investigation conducted by the special operations team he headed.
He told the court that investigations revealed that Emefiele allegedly used his position as CBN governor to establish a system that prevented ordinary Nigerians and businesspeople who urgently needed foreign exchange from accessing the funds required to conduct their businesses.
According to him, the difficulties in accessing foreign exchange forced businesspeople to resort to special arrangements allegedly put in place by Emefiele before they could obtain the funds.
The witness said: “One of those examples was how a company had to pay millions of dollars to the first defendant through his staff, Monday Osazuwa.
“Osazuwa admitted to us in the course of the investigation that he received about $17 million from the company and gave it to the second defendant sometime.
“The second defendant was the one who later took the money to the first defendant.
“Furthermore, in the course of the investigation, we found out that the first defendant used his office to receive such amounts. Another example is Source Computer, where the managing director of the company was compelled to bring out money for the first defendant before his contract fees were paid.”
The witness further highlighted various properties allegedly owned by the first defendant through proxies.
Gurumnaan told the court that Emefiele used associates to acquire numerous properties whose value, according to the investigation, was beyond his legitimate income as CBN governor.
According to him, several courts had delivered judgments in favour of the EFCC, ordering the forfeiture of assets and properties estimated to be worth hundreds of billions of naira and allegedly belonging to Emefiele.
Gurumnaan said: “He accepted and came to court that the properties belong to him.
“The first defendant used associates who also admitted to receiving money on his behalf. One of them is a lawyer called Ifeanyi Omeke, whose office our investigation led us to, where a sum of over $2 million in cash was recovered.
“This same Omeke serves as a secretary to several companies, and he admitted to being a front for the first defendant.
“We recovered a set of twin duplexes in Lekki Phase 1 and also two mansions on Queens Drive, Ikoyi, Lagos.”
Emefiele’s lead counsel, Mr Ojo Olalekan, SAN, and Omoile’s lead counsel, Mr Kazeem Gbadamosi, objected to the testimony, arguing that it was not relevant to the charges before the court.
In a brief ruling, Justice Rahman Oshodi overruled the objection, holding that the defendants would have the opportunity to cross-examine the witness.
In his further testimony, the witness told the court that during the investigation and the recording of the first defendant’s statement, Emefiele was given the opportunity to respond to some of the findings but failed to do so.
Gurumnaan said: “Although he did not address the allegations, our investigation found that the first defendant purchased many other properties through proxies, and I have mentioned some of them.
“We also discovered that the first defendant was building a factory in his hometown in Agbor, Delta State, which has also been forfeited to the Federal Government of Nigeria.
“There is also a property, my Lord, on Adekunle Lawal Street in Ikoyi, Lagos, which the first defendant purchased. It had belonged to the Nigerian Printing and Minting Company, where he served as chairman of the board, and he sold the property to himself.
“The property, a block of eight flats in Ikoyi, has also been forfeited to the government. During our investigation, another warehouse belonging to the first defendant was recovered in Ogun State, on the outskirts of Lagos.”
The witness further told the court that the warehouse contained several containers worth an estimated hundreds of billions of naira. He also disclosed that an 11-storey building comprising about 94 luxury flats was under construction and allegedly belonged to Emefiele.
Gurumnaan also told the court that an estate containing about 750 houses, allegedly belonging to the first defendant, was recovered in the Lokogoma district of Abuja.
Justice Oshodi adjourned the case until November 13, 2026, for continuation of trial.
