Emefiele trial: Finance ministry had no knowledge of N124.86bn CBN withdrawal

The Federal Ministry of Finance had no knowledge of the withdrawal of N124.86 billion from the Central Bank of Nigeria, a director in the ministry told the Federal Capital Territory High Court in Abuja on Tuesday.

Testifying as the 10th prosecution witness in the trial of former CBN Governor, Godwin Emefiele, Ali Mohammed said none of the three divisions under his supervision was aware of the transaction.

Mohammed, a Director in the Department of Home Finance, was led in evidence by prosecution counsel, Abbas Mohammed.

He said he appeared before the court after the ministry received a letter from a team investigating the withdrawal of N154 billion allegedly made by the CBN.

According to the witness, he contacted the three divisions under his department to determine whether they had any knowledge of the transaction.

The divisions, he said, were State and Public Finance, Trade and Banking, and Other Financial Institutions.

“None of the three divisions was privy to the transaction,” he told the court.

Mohammed explained that the State and Public Finance Investment Division was particularly relevant because of its responsibility for overseeing the affairs of the CBN.

He said he subsequently wrote, through the Permanent Secretary of the Ministry of Finance, to the Office of the Accountant-General of the Federation to establish whether the office was aware of the transaction.

The witness said the OAGF was the appropriate office to approach because it is responsible for the custody and processing of payments for the Federal Government.

According to him, the Accountant-General responded in writing that the office had no knowledge of the transaction and classified the money as a direct credit from the CBN.

Mohammed said the response formed the basis of a memorandum he prepared for the Special Investigator.

“I responded via a memo of what has transpired between my office and that of the AGF and sought for clearance for such document to be forwarded to the Special Investigator. Subsequently, the letter was forwarded,” he said.

The witness identified the documents sent to the investigator after they were shown to him in court.

They included a letter bearing the logo of the Federal Ministry of Finance and signed by Mohammed, as well as a letter signed by the Accountant-General of the Federation.

He told the court that the original copies had already been forwarded to the Special Investigator and sought to tender certified true copies.

Defence counsel, Olalekan Ojo, SAN, did not object to their admission.

Justice Maryanne Anineh admitted the documents and marked them as Exhibits AJ, AK and AL.

Explaining Exhibit AJ, Mohammed said it established that the Federal Ministry of Finance was unaware of the N124.86 billion withdrawal.

He said he relied on the letter from the Accountant-General before signing the document.

On Exhibit AL, the witness said the document contained confirmation from the OAGF that it had no knowledge of the transaction involving the N124.86 billion.

The prosecution then directed Mohammed’s attention to the third line of Exhibit AJ, which stated that the amount under consideration had been classified in the ministry’s records as a direct debit by the CBN.

Explaining the term, Mohammed said: “Direct debit means it was withdrawn from the Central Bank of Nigeria without recourse of any office in Nigeria. That is what it means.”

He further told the court that, ordinarily, the OAGF, which is supervised by the Federal Ministry of Finance, would require a directive before such a withdrawal could be made.

He added that the document did not show that the Federal Ministry of Finance had directed the OAGF to make the withdrawal, particularly from the Consolidated Revenue Fund.

CBN director’s testimony

Earlier, the ninth prosecution witness, Hamisu Abdullahi, a Director of Banking Services at the CBN, continued his testimony.

The prosecution referred him to his earlier cross-examination on May 4, 2026, when he mentioned a particular email, and asked whether he could still recall the document.

Abdullahi answered in the affirmative.

He explained that the email was generated from the CBN’s computer system, certified as a true copy, signed and accompanied by a certificate of compliance.

According to him, the email contained a directive from the then CBN governor to recover a N1.4 billion debit in the receivables account from the Consolidated Revenue Fund.

When the document was shown to him, Abdullahi confirmed that he could identify it.

The prosecution subsequently tendered the email and its accompanying certificate.

Ojo, SAN, who represented the defence, said he had no objection.

Justice Anineh admitted the documents and marked them Exhibits AH1 and AH2.

With the completion of his testimony, Abdullahi was discharged.

The court adjourned the case until Wednesday, October 7, 2026, for cross-examination and continuation of the trial.

Emefiele is being prosecuted by the Economic and Financial Crimes Commission on a four-count charge bordering on alleged disobedience to lawful directives and unlawful acts allegedly resulting in harm to members of the public in connection with the controversial naira redesign policy.