EFCC Witness Tells Court of Nationwide Probe in Emefiele Naira Redesign Trial
Prosecution Witness Seven (PW7), Eneanye Chinedu, on Wednesday, January 28, 2026, told the Federal Capital Territory (FCT) High Court, Abuja, that the Economic and Financial Crimes Commission (EFCC) conducted a thorough and nationwide investigation into the alleged unlawful printing of new naira notes involving a former Governor of the Central Bank of Nigeria (CBN), Godwin Emefiele.
Testifying before Justice Maryanne Anineh under cross-examination by defence counsel, Olalekan Ojo, SAN, the witness, who heads EFCC’s Special Duty Committee 3, said he coordinated the investigation alongside other officers, including Buhari, Lanre, Adamu Alhaji and Ganiyu Olaibe.
PW7 confirmed that his evidence-in-chief reflected the core findings of the EFCC investigation and that no vital aspect was omitted. He explained that while he did not personally interrogate the defendant, other members of the investigation team did.
During proceedings, several television reports on the hardship occasioned by the naira redesign policy were played in court. The witness stated that the videos, sourced from News Central, TVC and Arise News, were not produced by the EFCC and that no staff of the stations featured were interviewed during the investigation.
He further told the court that his team interviewed members of the public and that all EFCC zonal offices across the federation, including Abuja and Lagos, participated in the investigation, with visits to the Central Bank of Nigeria and commercial banks to monitor cash disbursement.
PW7 also disclosed that Emefiele made several extra-judicial statements to the EFCC between October 26 and November 2, 2023. He added that the EFCC had no power to initiate policy decisions such as the naira redesign and that the defendant provided no supporting evidence for claims that former EFCC Chairman, Abdulrasheed Bawa, briefed then President Muhammadu Buhari on the policy.
According to the witness, the investigation extended to the State House, from which a written memorandum was received and reviewed by the team. He, however, said he was not aware of any executive order issued by the late President Buhari in respect of the naira redesign policy.
Justice Anineh adjourned the matter to February 3 and 10, and April 1 and 2, 2026, for continuation of trial, with further hearings fixed for May 11–14 and June 9–10, 2026.
