The 15th Prosecution Witness (PW15), Jim Osayande Obazee, in the trial of former Governor of the Central Bank of Nigeria (CBN), Godwin Emefiele, on Friday, July 3, 2026, told Justice Hamza Muazu of the Federal Capital Territory (FCT) High Court, Abuja, that the alleged fraudulent withdrawal of $6.23 million earmarked for a foreign election observer mission for the 2023 general election pushed the CBN’s special dollar account for internal staff and Ministries, Departments and Agencies (MDAs) into a negative balance of ₦2,858,150,196.42.
The Economic and Financial Crimes Commission (EFCC) is prosecuting Emefiele before Justice Muazu on an amended 20-count charge bordering on conferment of corrupt advantage, conspiracy, criminal breach of trust, forgery, and obtaining by false pretences involving $6,230,000.00.
The witness, a Federal Government Special Investigator appointed by President Bola Tinubu on July 28, 2023, to probe the CBN and related government business entities, while being led in evidence by the prosecution counsel and Director of Public Prosecutions, Rotimi Oyedepo, SAN, disclosed that the withdrawal was made without a naira cover as required for dollar transactions. According to him, this forced the account into a negative balance of ₦2,858,150,196.42, a development that, he said, ought to have triggered an investigation by the defendant and the bank’s Chief Accounting Officer.
He further disclosed that the money left the Abuja branch of the bank on February 3, 2023, without proper documentation identifying the receiving official. He added that the transaction should have been reflected in the CBN’s 2022 financial statements, which were signed in May 2025, and ought to have been detected by the bank’s external auditors, Ernst & Young, as well as its internal audit department.
The Special Investigator also revealed that the CBN’s Bank Verification Number (BVN) portal was non-functional for more than a month leading up to the withdrawal, making it impossible for the recipient to present identification before collecting the funds.
“Nobody will allow you to leave the bank until the account is balanced,” he said, adding that Emefiele, as a career banker and the bank’s Chief Accounting Officer, should have flagged the discrepancies surrounding the withdrawal.
The witness further told the court that his team’s investigation, which uncovered the withdrawal from the Abuja branch of the bank, began with a probe into internal control weaknesses within the CBN and included interviews with members of the bank’s internal audit unit.
He also disclosed that a letter from former President Muhammadu Buhari to the then Secretary to the Government of the Federation (SGF), Boss Mustapha, authorised the withdrawal of the funds from the CBN for election observer logistics. A follow-up letter from Mustapha to Emefiele, he said, introduced and authorised one Jibril Abubakar to collect the money on behalf of the Federal Government. He further stated that a letter from the CBN’s Director of Banking Supervision to the Branch Controller authorised the release of the funds and identified the individual who was to receive them.
According to him, the bank official who received and processed the payment documents was redeployed to the Office of the CBN Governor exactly 56 days after the transaction without following the normal redeployment procedure.
He also noted that the funds left the CBN vault without any economic benefit to the Federal Government, the CBN, or any foreign election observer mission.
“The money was actually taken, but did not flow to the supposed beneficiaries,” he said, adding that there was no record showing that any election observers received the funds.
The witness stated that Emefiele’s failure to flag the negative balance indicated that he was aware of the alleged fraudulent transaction.
“The money wouldn’t leave without the governor’s approval,” he said.
Further in his testimony, he disclosed that part of the money had been recovered from one Bashir Maishanu, who, according to him, confessed to the crime and returned $856,500 (Eight Hundred and Fifty-Six Thousand, Five Hundred United States Dollars) to the Special Investigative Team. He argued that Maishanu ought to have been standing trial alongside Emefiele.
He also disclosed that Boss Mustapha, the former SGF, whom he personally interviewed, could not explain why the $6.23 million transaction was omitted from his handover notes upon leaving office in May 2023. He further suggested that other officials, including members of the CBN Board and the Abuja Branch Controller, should also have been charged.
During cross-examination by defence counsel, Matthew Burkaa, SAN, the witness confirmed that criminal charges had already been filed against Emefiele in September 2023, before he was directed by the President in December 2023 to investigate and identify offences connected to the matter.
He further revealed that all the persons interviewed by the Special Investigative Team in connection with the withdrawal denied involvement or knowledge of the transaction, including Emefiele, whom he said was interviewed at the Kuje Correctional Centre.
During the proceedings, Justice Muazu ruled that the witness, not being a forensic document examiner, could not be asked to authenticate Emefiele’s signature on the exhibits tendered before the court.
The matter was adjourned until October 20, 2026, for the adoption of final written addresses, while defence counsel informed the court that he would file a no-case submission on behalf of Emefiele.
