Alleged fraud: How I handed $400,000 to Emefiele — Witness

An Economic and Financial Crimes Commission (EFCC) witness, John Adetola, has narrated to the Lagos Special Offences Court in Ikeja how he handed over $400,000 to the embattled former Governor of the Central Bank of Nigeria (CBN), Godwin Emefiele.

Adetola, an executive assistant to the former CBN Governor, made this disclosure while testifying before Justice Rahman Oshodi.

The embattled Emefiele and his co-defendant, Henry Omoile, are facing trial on 26 counts bordering on abuse of office, alleged $4.5 billion, and ₦2.8 billion fraud.

Adetola, who is the seventh prosecution witness, testified while being led in evidence by EFCC prosecutor Rotimi Oyedepo (SAN). He revealed that he had been summoned from Ekiti, his new posting location.

He said, “In 2018, though I can’t recall the exact date, Mr. Eric Odoh sent me a message on WhatsApp instructing me to collect the sum of $400,000 from John Ayoh and deliver it to the former CBN Governor when he was in Lagos.

“I went to the house of John Ayoh in Lekki, Lagos. He gave me an envelope, which I brought back to the office and handed over to the former CBN Governor.”

The witness informed the court that, as the executive assistant to the former CBN Governor, he managed office correspondence, attended to visitors, and performed other tasks as assigned by his boss.

“I joined the CBN in June 2014. Before that, I worked at Veritas Registrars, formerly Zenith Registrars, where I started in 2007.”

He also noted that he had known the former CBN Governor as the Managing Director of Zenith Bank before Emefiele transitioned to the CBN.

When asked about his means of communication with Emefiele, the witness said, “I communicated with the former CBN Governor via telephone, office line, email, and verbal communication.”

When further questioned about Emefiele’s family members, he replied, “I know Mr. George and Mr. Okanta, who are his brothers. I also know his wife, Mrs. Margaret Emefiele, and the second defendant, Henry Omoile.”

The witness recounted how he was invited by the EFCC earlier this year.
“In February 2023, I received an invitation from the EFCC to visit their office. They interviewed me, and I traveled to the EFCC office in Lagos, where I made voluntary statements.”

ALSO READ: Army to Nigerians: Use social media to boost national security, unity

When asked if he had interacted with John Ayoh during his tenure with Emefiele, Adetola said, “Yes, we worked together. John Ayoh was the former Director of ICT.”

He further informed the court that his phone had been reviewed by the EFCC, and he was questioned about some office documents they had retrieved and printed out.

“In 2018, though I can’t recall the exact date, Mr. Eric sent me a message on WhatsApp instructing me to collect $400,000 from John Ayoh and deliver it to the former CBN Governor when he came to Lagos.

“I went to the house of John Ayoh in Lekki, Lagos State. He gave me an envelope, which I took back to the office and handed over to the former CBN Governor,” the witness stated.

An attempt by the prosecution to tender the documents as exhibits was opposed by the defense counsel, Olalekan Ojo (SAN) and Adeyinka Kotoye (SAN).

However, Justice Oshodi, in a bench ruling, dismissed the objection and admitted as exhibits “a combination of official communication between the witness and Emefiele via WhatsApp, as well as between the witness and John Ogah and Eric Odoh.”

The court adjourned further hearing in the matter to December 10.