An Economic and Financial Crimes Commission (EFCC) investigator has told an Abuja court that commercial banks stockpiled redesigned Naira notes during the contentious currency overhaul, a move he said deepened the suffering of Nigerians when cash became scarce.
The witness, Chinedu Eneanya, appearing as the seventh prosecution witness (PW7) in the trial of former Central Bank of Nigeria (CBN) Governor, Godwin Emefiele, said the hoarding by banks worsened the cash crunch that left many citizens stranded.
Emefiele is standing trial over allegations of disobeying a presidential directive in the course of the naira redesign. Prosecutors allege that between October 19, 2022, and March 5, 2023, he approved the printing of 375,520,000 colour-swapped N1,000 notes at a cost of N11.05 billion without the recommendation of the CBN Board and the required presidential approval, an action said to have harmed the public.
The EFCC said the alleged offence violated Section 123 of the Penal Code, Cap 89, Laws of the Federation, 1990, and is punishable under the same law. Emefiele has pleaded not guilty.
Under cross-examination by defence counsel, Olalekan Ojo, SAN, Eneanya admitted he could not remember the exact number of banks where officials were found to have hoarded the new notes.
When asked, “Can you confirm to the Honourable Court that bank officials were hoarding mints?” he replied, “I am aware of that, but I cannot be specific.”
Pressed further on whether the EFCC arrested any bank officials linked to the alleged hoarding, the prosecution objected, arguing that the witness’s assignment was limited.
“His beat was specific; whether it (naira redesign) was a valid approval.”
Ojo countered that as an investigative officer, the witness was not confined to his testimony-in-chief and had the authority to make arrests. He added that the question was relevant, given the EFCC’s claim that Emefiele’s actions caused undue hardship due to cash shortages.
Justice Maryann Anenih, after confirming the witness’s role, directed him to respond. Eneanya said, “I stated before this court that the EFCC raised a task force; I didn’t say it was my team.”
He added that he was unaware of what actions, if any, were taken against the bank officials involved. Asked who authorised the nationwide inspection of commercial banks, he said he was “not privy to that information.”
Earlier, Eneanya told the court that the Managing Director of Nigerian Security Printing and Minting Plc (NSPM), Ahmed Halilu, disclosed email exchanges between himself and De La Rue to the EFCC team.
“The email was made available to my team by the MD of NMPS, and subsequently, the email was opened in front of the team.”
He admitted that Halilu wrote several statements but could not recall all of them, prompting the defence to request copies. He also said he “could not remember” whether NSPM had ever designed naira notes and could not recall the quantity of cash supplied to commercial banks, asking for time to consult records.
On whether banks were contacted to verify the amounts received, he said:
“We have a team that went nationwide in conjunction with other law enforcement agencies, taking stock and ensuring that those currencies were made available in public.”
He added that records were kept from the stock-taking exercise, which the defence asked to be produced. When questioned about checks on bank vaults, the witness said he “was not there in all the teams.”
At the start of proceedings, Emefiele’s lawyer complained that the defence received the investigative report they requested only 15 minutes before the hearing. The EFCC’s counsel responded that the document was produced in court as requested and not to shortchange the defence.
Justice Anenih adjourned the case until March 19 for the continuation of cross-examination.
