Alleged Abuse of Office: Witness Admits Receiving $400,000 for Emefiele

In a court hearing on alleged abuse of office, a witness revealed he collected $400,000 on behalf of former CBN Governor Godwin Emefiele. 

The seventh prosecution witness, Mr. John Adetola, testifying in the case against the former Governor of the Central Bank of Nigeria (CBN), revealed to a Lagos High Court in Ikeja that he collected $400,000 on behalf of Godwin Emefiele.

Adetola, identifying himself as Emefiele’s Executive Assistant, also described how he delivered the money to Emefiele.

He provided this testimony on Thursday while responding to questions from Mr. Rotimi Oyedepo, Senior Advocate of Nigeria and counsel for the Economic and Financial Crimes Commission (EFCC) prosecutor.

Adetola informed the trial judge, Justice Rahman Oshodi, that his office responsibilities involve managing correspondences, attending to visitors, and performing any tasks assigned by his supervisor. He mentioned that these duties granted him direct access to Emefiele.

Regarding the $400,000, he testified that he had been called from Ekiti, his new place of assignment, to collect the money.

He mentioned that in 2018, though he couldn’t recall the exact date, Mr. Eric Odoh, the personal assistant to the CBN Governor in Abuja, sent him a WhatsApp message instructing him to collect $400,000 from John Ayoh—who was then the director of ICT—and deliver it to the former CBN Governor upon his arrival in Lagos.

I visited John Ayoh’s residence in Lekki, Lagos. He handed me an envelope which I then delivered to the former Governor of the CBN upon my return to the office.

The witness stated that he provided this information to the EFCC during his interrogation about the funds.

Adetola also mentioned that he was familiar with the former CBN Governor when he served as Managing Director of Zenith Bank, prior to his tenure at the Central Bank.

I joined the CBN in June 2014. Prior to that, I was with Veritas Registrars, previously known as Zenith Registrars, starting from 2007.

When questioned about how he interacts with Emefiele, the witness responded, “I communicate with the former CBN Governor via telephone, office line, email, and verbal communication.”

When asked to identify some of Emefiele’s family members, the witness stated, “I know Mr. George and Mr. Okanta; they are brothers of Mr. Emefiele. I also know his wife, Mrs. Margaret Emefiele.” Additionally, he mentioned being familiar with the second defendant, Henry Omoile, who resided in Emefiele’s house in Lagos.

READ ALSO: Emefiele’s $2.04M and Properties Permanently Forfeited by Court Order

The witness also described how he received an invitation from the EFCC.

In February 2023, I was invited by the EFCC to visit their office. Upon my arrival at the Lagos location, they conducted an interview with me and I provided statements voluntarily.

Oyedepo inquired whether, while carrying out his duties for the former CBN Governor, he had any interactions with John Ayoh.

“Yes, we work together; John Ayo was the former Director of ICT.”

Adetola also told the court that the EFCC had accessed his phone, which contained some office documents. He was questioned about these documents, and afterwards they printed them out.

He found several documents that displayed his correspondence with John Ayoh and Odoh.

The witness stated that the documents include a mix of official communications between themselves and the governor conducted over WhatsApp, as well as interactions with John Ayoh and Eric Odoh. Additionally, they contain other official documents received for action purposes.

It also includes office supplies and other documents from Limelight, Commec, and Dummia Oil. The additional documents pertain to the administrative department’s procurements.

“The documents were discovered on my phone and printed at the EFCC.”

The witness stated that he confirmed the documents were printed from his mobile phone.

Following this, EFCC prosecutor Mr. Oyedepo requested the court’s permission to submit the bundle of documents as evidence.

Emefiele’s counsel, Senior Advocate of Nigeria Olaleko Ojo, initially objected to the documents’ admissibility. However, he withdrew his objections when it was clarified that their submission was solely for identification purposes.

Henry Omoile’s counsel, Adeyinka Kotoye, a Senior Advocate of Nigeria, upheld his objections to the admissibility of the documents. He argued that these documents lacked any legal basis.

Kotoye stated that if a document is not submitted as evidence, it should not be presented at all.

In his response, Oyedepo maintained that the documents were pertinent and would prove to be vital components of the offense. He was adamant about presenting them for identification purposes.

After reviewing all the submissions, Justice Oshodi accepted the documents and labeled them for “identification purposes.”

He adjourned the session until December 10 for the cross-examination of the witness.