A Director in the Home Finance Department of the Federal Ministry of Finance, Dr Ali Mohammed, on Wednesday told the FCT High Court in Maitama, Abuja, that former Central Bank of Nigeria (CBN) Governor, Godwin Emefiele, was not a signatory to the withdrawal of N124.86 billion from the Consolidated Revenue Account.
Mohammed, who testified as a prosecution witness in Emefiele’s trial, also said neither the Minister of Finance nor the Accountant-General of the Federation queried the CBN over the withdrawal.
Emefiele is being prosecuted by the Economic and Financial Crimes Commission (EFCC) on four counts of disobedience to the direction of law and illegal acts causing injury to the public.
The charges, marked FCT/HC/CR/264/2024, allege that Emefiele, between Oct. 19, 2022 and March 5, 2023, disobeyed Section 19 of the CBN Act by approving the printing of 375,520,000 color-swapped N1,000 notes at a cost of N11.05 billion without the recommendation of the CBN Board and approval of the President. He pleaded not guilty to the charges.
During cross-examination by Emefiele’s counsel, Olalekan Ojo, SAN, Mohammed said the N124.86 billion withdrawn from the Federal Government’s account was neither traced to Emefiele’s personal account nor linked to him as a signatory to the Consolidated Revenue Account.
The witness also said he was unaware that the money was withdrawn for Hajj pilgrimage subsidy.
He told the court that he had no knowledge of the public transactions that led the CBN to withdraw the funds from the government account.
“I was invited by EFCC in respect of the withdrawal of the N124.86 billion, but was neither interrogated on the circumstances that led to the withdrawal nor made any statement in respect of the same during my visit to the commission.”
Mohammed added that EFCC operatives did not show him any document linking Emefiele to the withdrawal.
“Of the three letters that emanated from the Federal Ministry of Finance and the Office of the Accountant-General, none of the letters suggested the name of Emefiele as a signatory to the Consolidated Revenue Account,” he said.
The witness further testified that the Ministry of Finance did not write to the CBN under Emefiele requesting the withdrawal of the funds, despite an advice from the Accountant-General of the Federation.
He said the three letters also did not indicate that Emefiele authorized the debiting of the money from the Federal Government’s account.
According to Mohammed, the Ministry of Finance took no further action regarding the funds other than informing the special investigator that it was unaware of the transaction.
He also told the court that he had no personal interaction with the special investigator who probed the CBN under Emefiele.
Responding to further questions, Mohammed said he was unaware that the late President Muhammadu Buhari obtained approval from the National Assembly for the use of the Ways and Means policy between 2016 and 2023. Witness Details Investigation Into N124.86bn Withdrawal
Earlier in his testimony, Mohammed narrated how he received a letter from the special investigator appointed by President Bola Tinubu to investigate the CBN under Emefiele, including the withdrawal of the N124.86 billion.
He said, as the supervisor of three divisions under the ministry’s Home Finance Unit, he convened an emergency meeting with the heads of the divisions. According to him, the officials denied knowledge of the alleged withdrawal.
Following their denial, Mohammed said he wrote to the Accountant-General of the Federation through the Permanent Secretary of the ministry, seeking clarification on the transaction.
He said the Office of the Accountant-General also denied knowledge of the withdrawal and concluded that the N124.86 billion must have been withdrawn by the CBN.
Mohammed said the ministry communicated the findings to the special investigator in response to his request.
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He subsequently tendered letters from the Federal Ministry of Finance and the Office of the Accountant-General of the Federation before the court. The documents were admitted as exhibits without objection from Emefiele’s counsel.
After the cross-examination, prosecution counsel, Abbas Mohammed, asked the court to discharge the witness and adjourn the matter. Justice Maryanne Anenih adjourned the case until Nov. 26 to continue the trial.
 Governor, Godwin Emefiele, was not a signatory to the withdrawal of N124.86 billion from the Consolidated Revenue Account.){kind=link}