Emefiele: Former CBN Secretary alleges how ex-governor sent money to nephew’s account

Former Secretary of the Central Bank of Nigeria (CBN), Mr. John Ogah, has told the court that former CBN Governor, Godwin Emefiele, listed his nephew as one of the beneficiaries of funds from an account allegedly operated in his name.

DAILY POST reports that Ogah testified before the Lagos High Court in Ikeja.

Ogah, who is the 6th prosecution witness of the Economic and Financial Crimes Commission (EFCC), made the statement while answering questions from the Commission’s lawyer, Senior Advocate of Nigeria, Rotimi Oyedepo.

He told the court that he knew that Emefiele had instructed the 5th prosecution witness, Ifeoma Ogbonnaya, accounts officer of Zenith bank, to transfer money to the account of her niece named Hannah.

Emefiele’s lawyer, Olalekan Ojo, SAN, objected to such questions and questioned the appropriateness of the statement as Hannah’s name was not mentioned anywhere in the charge.

Emefiele’s lawyer argued that this was an attempt to sensationalize the issue.

However, the EFCC lawyer argued that this was linked to the incident in question, abuse of power and granting corrupt advantage to Emefiele’s associates and close family members, including his wife Margaret.

Through the witness, the EFCC also led into evidence several email messages sent to account officers of three companies at Zenith Bank namely Comec Support Services Ltd, Limelight Multidimensional Services Ltd and Andswin Resources Limited to transfer funds to certain beneficiaries.

The EFCC had alleged that the companies were used to launder the funds of the former CBN governor.

Judge Rahman Oshodi adjourned the case to November 28, 2024 for further hearing.