Emefiele
By James
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Malam Bashirudeen Maishanu, a Deputy Director of the Central Bank of Nigeria (CBN), on Thursday stunned the Federal Capital Territory High Court in Abuja by taking personal responsibility for the disappearance of $6.2 million from the apex bank during the tenure of former CBN Governor, Godwin Emefiele.
Maishanu, who is in charge of Banking Supervision at the CBN, made the admission while testifying as a prosecution witness in the ongoing trial of Emefiele over alleged procurement fraud and financial misconduct.
While accepting responsibility for the entire sum, the witness specifically acknowledged his role in the withdrawal of $2.5 million out of the disputed funds.
“I take responsibility for the loss of the money,” Maishanu told the court. “I was inadvertently involved in the withdrawal, and the personal assistant to the former governor, Eric Ocheme, who handled the transaction, is nowhere to be found.”
Emefiele is standing trial before Justice Hamza Muazu, sitting at the Maitama Division of the FCT High Court, on an amended 20-count charge bordering on criminal breach of trust, abuse of office, conspiracy, forgery, and obtaining money by false pretence.
The former apex bank governor is being prosecuted by the Economic and Financial Crimes Commission (EFCC) in a case marked CR/577/2023.
According to the prosecution, Emefiele allegedly authorised the withdrawal of $6.23 million, purportedly meant to fund the engagement of international election observers for the 2023 general election, using forged approval documents bearing the signatures of former President Muhammadu Buhari and former Secretary to the Government of the Federation, Boss Mustapha.
However, while being cross-examined by Emefiele’s lead counsel, Matthew Burkaa, SAN, Maishanu insisted that he neither met Emefiele nor received any direct instruction from him concerning the transaction.
“I did not receive any instruction from the former governor. All instructions I received came from his personal assistant, Eric Ocheme,” he said.
The witness further told the court that he only realised the transaction was fraudulent when he was confronted with investigative documents showing that the presidential and SGF approvals presented to him were forged.
“I genuinely believed the payment was legitimate because the CBN operates rigorous approval and payment processes,” he explained.
Maishanu disclosed that he became suspicious after he, a friend, and another individual were handed $2.5 million from the withdrawn funds, despite no prior agreement or negotiation.
“The amount was outrageous. We never discussed any payment. I felt it was a setup,” he told the court.
He admitted that he failed to officially report the unexpected “gift” to the bank but said he later refunded a substantial portion of the money through the Special Investigative Panel set up by President Bola Tinubu to probe activities at the CBN under Emefiele.
Earlier in his testimony, led by EFCC counsel Rotimi Oyedepo, SAN, the witness narrated how, in January 2023, an individual identified as Ahmed, acting on the instructions of Emefiele’s personal assistant, approached him regarding a transaction allegedly approved by the President.
Maishanu said Ahmed later claimed that Emefiele’s approval had also been secured and requested assistance in facilitating a cash withdrawal.
On February 8, 2023, Ahmed and one of Maishanu’s associates reportedly proceeded to the Garki branch of the CBN in Abuja, where the $6.2 million was withdrawn in cash.
The witness told the court that the funds were never used for their stated purpose and confirmed that he was subsequently sanctioned internally by the CBN.
Emefiele, who has pleaded not guilty to all charges, is also accused of awarding vehicle supply contracts worth over ₦1.21 billion to a company allegedly linked to a serving CBN staff member between 2018 and 2022.
After listening to the testimony, Justice Muazu adjourned the matter until January 30 for continuation of hearing.
