The prosecution witness, who is a CBN official, narrated the roles he played in facilitating the suspicious withdrawal of $6.23 million cash from the bank's vault in February 2023.
A sum of $6.23 million was withdrawn in cash from a Central Bank of Nigeria (CBN) vault in one day in February 2023, during the tenure of Godwin Emefiele as the CBN governor, a prosecution witness said on Thursday, shedding light on a transaction previous witnesses had said was based on false claims and forged documents.
Bashirudden Maishanu, an assistant director in CBN, who testified as the 11th prosecution witness in Mr Emefiele's corruption trial at the Federal Capital Territory (FCT) High Court in Maitama, Abuja, narrated the roles he played in facilitating the suspicious cash withdrawal. He said the money was tagged as payments to foreign observers for the 2023 general election.
The official said an intermediary linked to Mr Emefiele left $2.5 million for him and his friends whom he asked go for the withdrawal of the money at the CBN branch in Garki, Abuja, on 8 February 2023. He said the intermediary left the money without any prior negotiations.
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He claimed he only realised the transaction was fraudulent only after Jim Obazee, the special investigator hired by President Bola Tinubu in his early days in office to probe the CBN under the leadership of Mr Emefiele, showed him the documents that were cooked up to facilitate the heist.
According to him, Mr Obazee, whose findings spurred most of the multiple charges filed against Mr Emefiele in different courts, showed him the fraudulent documents used for the transaction.
In the case, the Economic and Financial Crimes Commission (EFCC) is prosecuting Mr Emefiele, the immediate-past governor of the CBN, on 20 counts of corruption and fraudulent transactions, including the one involving the $6.23 million, he allegedly carried out or directed while in office.
Mr Emefiele denied the charges when he was rearranged before trial judge Hamza Muazu in January 2024.
Previous prosecution witnesses, including Boss Mustapha, the then-Secretary to the Governor of Federation (SGF), and a forensic expert had appeared in court to share various fraudulent features of the $6.23 million transaction.
Mr Maishanu, who was led in evidence on Thursday by the Director of Public Prosecutions of the Federation (DPPF), Oyedepo Rotimi, a Senior Advocate of Nigeria (SAN), told the court that the money was withdrawn with purported approval of then-President Muhammadu Buhari. Mr Buhari died last year.
How it began
The witness recalled that he knew Mr Emefiele in 2015 through one Eric, who was his personal assistant as CBN governor.
He detailed how Eric sent someone, identified as Alhaji Ahmed, to him to give him a heads-up regarding the$6.23 million withdrawal plan that was said to be in the works at the time
"He introduced himself to me and said Mr Eric, the P.A. asked me to see you about some transactions that they were processing in CBN. He said he was working in a Special Committee in the SGF office," he was quoted as saying in a press statement from the EFCC focusing on Thursday's hearing.
The witness said further, "I asked him for I.D. and he showed me, I asked him to call Mr Eric so that I can confirm he indeed asked him to see me. He called Mr. Eric and we spoke and he said he knew Alhaji Ahmed and he said indeed he did ask him to see me.
Thereafter, Mr Ahmed explained to me that they were processing a payment from the CBN on the authority of Mr President and that once they obtained the presidential approval on paper, they will proceed to CBN for payment.
"I asked Ahmed what role I was to play because I was not working in the branch where the payment is made, he said it was too early at that time, and that once they obtained the approval of the government, he would let me know."
The witness told the court that MrAhmed met him about a week later and told him that they had obtained President Buhari's approval.
"I demanded to see it, and he showed me the copy and told me that they will now go to the CBN to obtain Mr Emefiele's approval. At that point he told me that they wanted cash payment and if I could either go with them or recommend someone to go with them. I told him I couldn't go, and I suggested that I should call someone I knew," he said.
The witness said Mr Ahmed later told him he had the government approval and that the person he wanted to send could come for the cash payment.
"On the 8 February, my friend went with his driver and cashed the money in Garki Branch of CBN: $6,230,000. Thereafter, they dropped my friend off at the same location inside the estate; it is called the 09 ClubHouse inside Ibrahim Coomasie Crescent. My friend called and said they had cashed the money and that Mr Ahmed had left with $2.5 million in cash with his friends."
The witness stated that he suggested to his friends that they should keep the money, a suggestion he said they agreed. "I saw the cash and I told them that I thought it was outrageous because we never negotiated for any payment with the said Alhaji Ahmed and I suggested to my friends that we keep the money, they agreed."
When asked by the prosecution lawyer to explain how the CBN sanctions its erring officials, the witness stated that the bank applied different kinds of sanctions on erring staff members depending on the nature, gravity and circumstances of the offence.
"It could be demotion, termination of appointment or dismissal from service or warnings. These sanctions are all clearly contained in the human resource handbook," Mr Maishanu said.
He further stated that before sanctions were applied, there would be a disciplinary committee comprising selected staff members who would conduct investigations into the matter, hold hearings with erring staff and recommend the appropriate sanction to the management.
'No disciplinary action'
He further disclosed that he did not face any disciplinary action by the CBN board in respect to the matter before the court. The Chairman of the board, he said, is the CBN governor.
The witness, however, informed the court that he did not see the approval on exhibit A3 and A6 but stated that the approval was captured on Exhibit A1, A4, A7, A8,A10 and A40, PD3,PD5 and PD6, adding that it is the responsibility of the CBN governor to approve or his Committee of Governors from the board to approve. "The Committee of Governors is also chaired by the CBN governor," he said.
The witness disclosed that $6.23 million covered election-related matters.
Responding to the prosecution, he told the court that the $6.23 million covered "expenses on election overseers."
Cross-examination
During cross-examination by defence counsel, Mathew Burkar, a SAN, the witness stated that though he did not know the identity of the official that gave the approval because he did not witness the signing of the approval, he restated that the cash was withdrawn from the Garki branch of the CBN and that there were documents through which the money could be traced.
"There is a flow and every person involved in that flow has his signature on the internal document," he said.
Asked by the defence if he assumed that the approval was fraudulent.
He replied, "I not only assume, I am sure because I know that the CBN has rigorous processes for payment not just cash payment, but online payments and it could be based on the likelihood of forged documents, especially of that value slipping through the system."
Speaking on the $2.5 million left for them by Mr Ahmed, the witness said that the sum was left for him and two others.
"Now from this money, you testified that you got a share of $2.5 million," the lawyer asked.
In response, Mr Maishanu said, "Yes, that is not mine. It was the share of the three of us."
Although the money was tagged as payment to foreign election observers for the 2023 general elections, he admitted that he did not play any role in monitoring the elections. But he said when he got the $2.5 million, he did not know it was fraudulent.
"I couldn't conclude that it was fraudulent because at that point in time documents had been passed and paid for a specific purpose. What made me suspicious like I said earlier was the volume of money they had left with my friends," he said.
'I accepted responsibility'
He further informed the court that he met Mr Obazee, the special investigator hired by the President Tinubu administration to probe CBN who showed him the forged documents. He said he told Mr Obazee that he would accept responsibility.
"When I met Mr Obazee, he showed me the forged documents, I told him that I would accept personal responsibility for a number of reasons. Firstly, I had become involved, and Mr Eric was nowhere to be seen. I couldn't ask some of our friends whom I knew had good contact with him. I was worried about the damage it would do to myself. Until that point, I had no idea it was a fraud," he said, adding that he did not consider the money as a gift, but rather as a set-up.
The judge adjourned the matter till Friday for continuation of trial.
What previous witnesses said about the $6.23 million transaction
Former Secretary to the Government of the Federation (SGF) during President Muhmmadu Buhari's administration, Boss Mustapha, appeared as a prosecution witness in the trial on 13 February 2024.
In his testimony, Mr Mustapha said Mr Buhari's signature was forged to give approval to the cash withdrawal of $6.2 million from the CBN vault.
That was a day after a former controller at the CBN in Abuja, Onyeka Ogbu, told the court that he received the written approval given by then President Buhari, Mr Mustapha, and Mr Emefiele for the cash payment.
Mr Mustapha who testified as the fourth prosecution witness for the EFCC, said his signature and Mr Buhari's were forged by people who pilfered the $6.23 from the CBN vault on 8 February 2023.
"It was claimed that Buhari also signed, but on the face value of this document, having served for five years and seven months as SGF, this document did not emanate from the president for the following reasons.
"A correspondent that has the seal of Nigeria does not carry a reference number. The seal is the authority," Mr Mustapha told the judge.
Testifying a day earlier, former branch controller at the CBN, Mr Ogbu, had said that Messrs Buhari and Mustapha gave their approval for the payment of the funds to foreign election observers at the last general elections.
He said the memo authorising the payment requested that it should be paid in its naira equivalent. It amounted to about N2.9 billion at the prevailing exchange rate in January 2023.
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But giving his account of what transpired, Mr Mustapha said neither he nor Mr Buhari gave their nod to the withdrawal of the funds.
He faulted the letter that purportedly emanated from the then SGF's office authorising payment of the money.
Asked by the prosecuting lawyer in respect of Exhibit PD7 which stated that the release of the money was approved at the 187th Federal Executive Council (FEC) that held in 18 January 2023, Mr Mustapha affirmed that a FEC meeting was held that day, but that it was not 187th session, but rather first meeting of the year because it was January.
On 7 March 2024, Bamaiyi Meriga, a forensic expert, told the court that documents used to facilitate the withdrawal of $6.23 million from the CBN were forged.
The money was withdrawn purportedly for payment to foreign election observers during the 2023 general elections.
Mr Mairiga testified at Thursday's proceedings in the ongoing trial of former CBN governor, Godwin Emefiele, on whose watch the suspicious, humongous withdrawal was made.
Mr Meriga, who testified as the fifth prosecution witness for the EFCC, said the signatures of then-President Buhari and then-SGF, Mr Mustapha, were forged on the documents used to facilitate the $6.23 million withdrawal from the CBN on 8 February 2023.
The witness said after a forensic analysis of the disputed documents, he found out that there was clear evidence of forgery.
"The conclusion from the analysis revealed that the disputed documents showed evidence of forgery and copying act, as the pen movement, form and formation of the signature and the skill of execution were found to be different from that of the specimen signatures marked exhibits a to 'A2' and 'B' to 'B2.'
"The formation of the disputed signature marked: 'X' and 'B' to 'B1' was found to be different in respect of pen movement impulses, skill of execution, loop formation, presence of tremors; there were individual characteristics.
"This is confirmation that the author of the specimen signature marked 'B' to 'B1' did not write the signature of Muhammadu Buhari on a disputed document marked 'X'.
"Also, the form and formation of the disputed signature marked 'X1' and the specimen signatures marked 'A' to 'A2' were also found to be different in respect of pen movement impulses, terminal strokes, loop formation, presence of tremors and individual characteristics.
"This is also a confirmation that the author of the specimen signatures, marked 'A' to 'A2' did not write the signature of Boss Mustapha on the disputed document marked 'X1," Mr Mairiga explained.
Mr Mairiga said he later issued a report of his findings about what transpired.
