Emefiele’s Ex-Colleague Alleges ₦1.6bn Cash Transfers on His Orders
The trial of former Central Bank of Nigeria (CBN) Governor, Godwin Emefiele, continued on Wednesday, January 21, 2026, before Justice Yusuf Halilu of the FCT High Court, Maitama, Abuja, with prosecution witnesses detailing alleged cash movements and bank transactions amounting to billions of naira.
Emefiele is standing trial on an eight-count charge filed by the Economic and Financial Crimes Commission (EFCC), bordering on criminal breach of trust, conspiracy, forgery and unlawful possession of properties suspected to be proceeds of crime, valued at ₦7.83 billion.
Testifying as Prosecution Witness 3 (PW3), Richard Agulu, a staff of the Nigerian Communications Commission (NCC) and former Zenith Bank employee, told the court that he worked at Zenith Bank between 2007 and 2023 and had professional dealings linked to Emefiele during that period.
Led in evidence by Rotimi Oyedepo, SAN, Agulu said Emefiele, while at Zenith Bank and later as CBN Governor, regularly sent instructions through his former personal assistant, Eric Ocheme, for cash to be received, kept and disbursed.
“My Lord, on the defendant’s instruction, conveyed through Mr. Eric, I received cash and disbursed same when needed,” he testified.
According to the witness, the funds were not paid into Emefiele’s personal account but were lodged in third-party accounts and disbursed strictly based on instructions.
Agulu identified the account of Ifeabigo Integrated Services, belonging to a friend, Peters Adebayo, as one of the accounts used. He narrated multiple cash deposits and transfers into the account between 2020 and 2022, running into hundreds of millions of naira.
He told the court that on August 25, 2021, acting on instructions from Emefiele through Eric, he transferred ₦600 million and ₦300 million from the Ifeabigo account to MG Properties Limited. He further identified the account of Kelvito Integrated Services, from which an additional ₦700 million was transferred to the same company.
“In total, I transferred ₦1.6 billion to MG Properties Limited on the defendant’s instruction through Mr. Eric,” Agulu stated, adding that he did not know the purpose of the transfers.
PW3 also testified to structured cash withdrawals, including 22 withdrawals of ₦10 million each in one day, which he said were handed over to Eric.
Under cross-examination, he confirmed that the account holders or authorised signatories approved the withdrawals.
Earlier, Prosecution Witness 2 (PW2), Olomotam Egoro, a compliance officer with Access Bank, testified on EFCC’s request for records relating to Ace Frozen Foods Ventures. He confirmed that the defendant’s name did not appear in the bank documents tendered in evidence.
Justice Halilu adjourned the matter to February 16, 2026, for continuation of trial and further cross-examination.
