EFCC, Emefiele differ over evidence in alleged fraudulent $6.23m CBN withdrawal, contract fraud trial

The FCT High Court in Maitama, Abuja, on Tuesday, adjourned for a ruling on a no-case submission filed by former Central Bank of Nigeria (CBN) Governor Godwin Emefiele seeking the dismissal of his $6.23 million fraud charges midway into trial.

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Mr Emefiele filed the no-case submission after the Economic and Financial Crimes Commission (EFCC) closed its case in July, maintaining that the prosecution’s evidence was too weak to warrant him entering a defence.

At Tuesday’s hearing, his lawyer, Matthew Burkaa, a Senior Advocate of Nigeria (SAN), said his client had no case to answer and urged the court to dismiss the charges.

But the prosecution led by Rotimi Oyedepo, a SAN and director of public prosecutions of the federation, opposed the submission, insisting that Mr Emefiele has a case to answer as its evidence linked him to the charges.

After listening to arguments for and against the submission from the defence and the prosecution, trial judge Hamza Muazu said the date of ruling would be communicated to the parties through their lawyers.

Mr Emefiele is facing 20 counts including the alleged $6.23 million fraud, criminal breach of trust, forgery, obtaining by false pretence, conspiracy to commit forgery, contract corruption, and conspiracy to commit a felony.

The former CBN governor allegedly approved the payout of $6.23 million in cash from CBN vault in Abuja purportedly for election observers for the 2023 general elections.

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EFCC alleged that the payment relied on a forged Secretary to the Government of the Federation letter dated 26 January, 2023 purportedly conveying then-President Muhammadu Buhari’s approval for the release of the funds.

EFCC first arraigned Mr Emefiele on 14 counts on 17 November 2023. It later amended the charges and re-arraigned the former CBN governor on 19 January 2024 on 20 amended counts. He pleaded not guilty to all charges on both occasions.

The case is one in a series of prosecutions Mr Emefiele is facing regarding his activities in office.

Following his not guilty plea, the prosecution opened its case on 12 February 2024 by calling Ogau Michael, a former CBN branch controller, as its first prosecution witness.

Between then and 3 July this year, the prosecution called 15 witnesses and tendered several documentary exhibits, including the copy of the allegedly forged letter attributed to the SGF office used in facilitating the $6.23 million payout.

The prosecution witnesses included former Executive Officer, Financial Reporting Council of Nigeria, Jim Obazee, whose special investigations commissioned by President Bola Tinubu into Mr Emefiele’s time at the CBN, unearthed a tangle of corruption scandals.

EFCC closed its case with Mr Obazee’s testimony on 3 July.

Instead of opening his defence, Mr Emefiele opted to file a no-case submission, arguing that no credible evidence was led to show he had any case to answer regarding any of the 20 counts.

No-case argument

Mr Emefiele’s lawyer, Mr Burkaa, argued that all 14 counts brought by the EFCC centred strictly on the alleged conferment of undue advantage by Mr Emefiele on his close associates.

The contracts included CBN contracts allegedly awarded to a company (Architekon) in which his wife and in-law were listed as directors, and April 1616 whom EFCC alleged was linked to Sa’adatu Yero, also Mr Emefiele’s close associate.

Mr Burkaa argued that none of the witnesses said Mr Emefiele benefited from the contracts or manipulated the Tender Board Committee (TBC) to award the contracts to the companies.

“The only thing the prosecution was able to show was that the man was the head of the bank who issued approvals. There was nothing to show that he manipulated the committee (TBC),” the senior lawyer said.

He said the EFCC hammered on Mr Emefiele’s approval of the contracts, which is not a complaint.

Arguing further, Mr Burkaa said, the prosecution witnesses stated, “In black and white, those companies were given the contracts because they bid less than other companies.”

He said the companies did their due diligence to win the contract.

“So, the corruption would have been that they collected money, and they did not do the work.

“The unfairness would have been that he manipulated the process to get them to have the contract,” Mr Burkaa argued.

He also noted that the prosecution speculated that the companies were guided, “yet they couldn’t show who and in what way they were guided.”

Alleged forgery of documents and signatures

He noted that the EFCC added counts 15 to 20 in the middle of trial. These counts centred on forged documents for the withdrawal of $6.23 million from CBN’s vault.

Mr Burkaa noted that then-Secretary to the Government of the Federation (SGF), Boss Mustapha, testified that both his signature and former President Muhammadu Buhari’s were forged on the documents.

Also, the lawyer noted, Mr Emefiele also said during EFCC’s interrogation that his signature was forged.

Mr Burkaa re-echoed Mr Obazee’s testimony on 3 July, questioning why Mr Mustapha and the late Mr Buhari were not under trial.

Why was Mr Emefiele’s signature not forensically tested?

Mr Burkaa also questioned EFCC’s failure to forensically test Mr Emefiele’s signature.

“The conclusion we got is that the man told them the truth and they believed it was false. That is the only logical conclusion we got,” he said.

He also referred to both Mr Okpoziakpo’s testimony here, saying Mr Emefiele’s signature should have been examined.

Mr Burkaa noted that Mr Emefiele’s prolonged stay in custody should have been EFCC’s opportunity to test his signature.

Also, Mr Burkaa maintained that EFCC worked on the presumption that because Eric Ocheme (who is at large), Mr Emefiele’s personal assistant, the defendant should be privy to his business.

On this basis, he urged the trial judge to uphold a no-case submission.

Prosecution objects

In his arguments, Mr Oyedepo said Mr Burkaa’s application shows that a “no-case submission has become a ritual that must be performed in any criminal case.”

He noted that he was baffled that, with 15 witnesses and numerous documents tendered, Mr Burkaa would apply for a no-case submission.

Presenting his arguments, Mr Oyedepo noted that Mr Emefiele, a public officer, used his position to award contracts to his relatives and associates.

“It will be laughable for my learned brother of the silk that there is no advantage conferred to Sa’adatu Yero, his close associate,” linked to April 1616.

The contracts in counts 1 to 14 did not go through the tenders board, bypassing the board’s scrutiny required for all contracts worth more than N10 million. “The committee was circumvented for reviewing the contract,” Mr Oyedepo argued.

“Is that an honest mistake of the defendant?” he asked.

He stated that the testimony of Stephen Gana showed that there was an instruction for April 1616 to be favoured. This, “at its best,” amounts to conferment of unfair advantage on the company, Mr Oyedepo vehemently argued.

He added that April 1616 was guided to quote the in-house price, depriving the other Nigerian contractors of a fair chance, he stressed.

“That is not an honest mistake; that is an unfair advantage in the process,” the prosecution maintained.

“My brother dissipated, a stream of energy, to show that the contract was executed and money was not traced to the defendant,” Mr Oyedepo said, adding that such is not the ingredient of the case, he noted.

Mr Oyedepo said Architekon never won any contract since its incorporation until Mr Emefiele became CBN governor.

‘$6.23 million withdrawal is criminal breach of trust’

He said the public should be bothered about the $6.23 million withdrawn from CBN under Mr Emefiele’s leadership, because it is a breach of trust.

He noted that Mr Burkaa’s submission that Mr Emefiele was not aware of the withdrawal between 8 February 2023 and sometime in June 2023 when he was removed from office was not backed by evidence.

READ ALSO: CBN under Emefiele withdrew N124.86bn from consolidated revenue account without approvals – Official

“The evidence before the court does not support that position,” Mr Oyedepo said.

He said Mr Emefiele had a duty to know about the withdrawal as CBN Governor, he argued.

He referred to Mr Obazee’s testimony, who noted that Mr Emefiele should have detected the theft.

He added that a lawyer to Mr Emefiele, Collins Omeife, was found with dollars and

An investigator with EFCC, David Jaiyeoba, testified as the 12th prosecution witness that Mr Omeife confessed during interrogations that the $2 million found with him belonged to Mr Emefiele.

Mr Oyedepo said Mr Emefiele needed to answer these issues.

Mr Burkaa disputed the prosecution’s assertion that April 1616 was guided and urged the court to check the record of the proceedings to confirm what was in evidence.

Mr Oyedepo also presented the court with the decision of the Supreme Court concerning the forfeitures of Mr Emefiele’s property. Mr Burkaa opposed this, noting the irrelevance of the document to the case.

The Judge ruled that Mr Oyedepo could refer to the decision in his address instead of tendering it as a document.

After hearing their arguments, the judge reserved his ruling on the no-case submission.