Emefiele: Finance Ministry Unaware of ₦124.86bn CBN Withdrawal, Witness Tells Court

By Adebola Muili

The Federal Ministry of Finance was not aware of the withdrawal of ₦124.86 billion from the Central Bank of Nigeria (CBN), a director in the ministry, Ali Mohammed, told the Federal Capital Territory High Court sitting in Maitama, Abuja, on Tuesday.

Mohammed, who testified as the 10th prosecution witness (PW10) in the ongoing trial of former CBN Governor, Godwin Emefiele, disclosed this while giving evidence before Justice Maryanne Anineh.

The witness, who was led in evidence by prosecution counsel, Abbas Mohammed, said the ministry became aware of the transaction after receiving a letter from an investigation team concerning about ₦154 billion reportedly withdrawn by the CBN.

Mohammed, who heads three divisions under the Department of Home Finance, said he contacted the divisions under his supervision to establish whether any of them had knowledge of the transaction.

According to him, none of the divisions was aware of the withdrawal, adding that the State and Public Finance Investment Division was particularly relevant because of its oversight responsibility over 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 (OAGF), which is responsible for payments on behalf of the Federal Government, to determine whether it was aware of the transaction.

The witness told the court that the OAGF responded that it had no knowledge of the transaction and indicated that the money was a direct credit from the CBN.

Explaining the basis for his response to the Special Investigator, Mohammed said he relied on the information contained in the Accountant-General’s letter.

“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 relevant documents before the court, including a letter he signed on behalf of the Federal Ministry of Finance and a letter signed by the Accountant-General of the Federation.

The prosecution sought to tender the documents, while defence counsel, Olalekan Ojo, SAN, raised no objection.

Justice Anineh subsequently admitted the documents in evidence and marked them Exhibits AJ, AK and AL.

Explaining the significance of Exhibit AJ, Mohammed said it established that the Federal Ministry of Finance had no knowledge of the ₦124.86 billion withdrawal.

He also explained a statement in the document which classified the transaction as a “direct debit letter” by the CBN.

“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 said.

Mohammed further told the court that, ordinarily, the OAGF, which is supervised by the Ministry of Finance, would require appropriate direction before making a withdrawal.

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

Earlier, prosecution witness nine (PW9), Hamisu Abdullahi, Director of Banking Services at the CBN, continued his testimony before the court.

During his evidence, Abdullahi confirmed an email which the prosecution had referred to from his earlier cross-examination on May 4, 2026.

He told the court 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 by the then CBN governor to recover ₦1.4 billion from the receivables account through the Consolidated Revenue Fund.

The prosecution tendered the email and its accompanying certificate, which the defence did not oppose.

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

With no further questions for Abdullahi, the court discharged him from the witness box and adjourned the case to Wednesday, October 7, 2026, for cross-examination and continuation of trial.

Emefiele is being prosecuted by the Economic and Financial Crimes Commission (EFCC) on a four-count charge bordering on alleged disobedience to lawful directives and unlawful acts allegedly linked to the controversial naira redesign policy.