Witness Claims Emefiele Ordered Concealment of Dollar Records in Court Testimony

In a recent court hearing, a witness alleged that former CBN Governor Godwin Emefiele instructed them to hide records of collected dollars, raising questions about transparency during his tenure.

During a testimony at the Ikeja Special Offences Court, Monday Osasuwa, who previously worked as a dispatch rider for former Central Bank of Nigeria (CBN) Governor Godwin Emefiele, revealed that Emefiele instructed him not to maintain formal records of substantial amounts of money collected on his behalf.

Osasuwa, currently acting as the first prosecution witness (PW1) in the Economic and Financial Crimes Commission (EFCC) case against Emefiele, revealed this information during re-examination by Olalekan Ojo (SAN), who is representing Emefiele.

In a session presided over by Justice Rahman Oshodi, Osasuwa confessed that he lacked documentation for the millions of dollars he allegedly collected and transferred to Emefiele.

This testimony was provided following Justice Oshodi’s approval of Ojo’s request to have Osasuwa return to the stand.

The lawyer inquired whether Osasuwa had provided any documents to the EFCC that reflected Emefiele’s instructions. The witness responded, “He advised me against documenting anything related to all the money I delivered to him. I didn’t produce any document because my boss instructed me not to maintain any records. I was simply following his orders.”

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“He instructed me to give it to the second defendant, Henry Omoile, whenever my boss was not present.”

On April 12, Osasuwa testified that Emefiele had repeatedly enlisted his help to gather funds from various sources while serving as the ex-CBN governor’s dispatch rider.

The witness stated that after joining the CBN, he collected over $3 million in installments on Emefiele’s behalf.

When Ojo inquired about the witness’s direct superior at the CBN, Osasuwa responded: “I didn’t have a single direct boss. In my office, we had the Secretary to former CBN Governor Emefiele.”

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When the lawyer inquired whether Osasuwa’s appointment letter as a senior supervisor included running personal errands for Emefiele, the witness responded, “If my boss gives me instructions, I can’t refuse.”

He informed the court that, due to the errands he did for Emefiele, the EFCC charged him with money laundering.

“I was holding some dollars for him, which led the EFCC to label it as money laundering. This situation arose from messages my boss had sent me.”

Emefiele is facing trial for purportedly abusing his office and engaging in money laundering amounting to $4.5 billion and ₦2.8 billion.

On April 8, the EFCC charged the former CBN governor with 23 counts related to abuse of office, accepting bribes, making corrupt demands, receiving property acquired through fraud, and granting undue advantages.

Omoile faced arraignment on three charges related to accepting gifts as an agent.

The defendants declared their innocence regarding the charges.

Emefiele was granted bail set at N50 million, requiring two guarantors to provide the same amount.