ABUJA, Nigeria — The corruption trial of former Central Bank of Nigeria (CBN) governor Godwin Emefiele took a sharp turn on Thursday after an EFCC witness told a Federal Capital Territory High Court that the “disappearance” of $6.23 million withdrawn from the apex bank “rests” on him, claiming he had been unknowingly drawn into a transaction later found to be fraudulent.
Emefiele, who ran the CBN from 2014 to 2023, is being prosecuted by the Economic and Financial Crimes Commission (EFCC) on an amended 20-count charge that includes alleged procurement abuses and the purported diversion of foreign currency said to have been requested for “international election observers” linked to Nigeria’s 2023 general elections.
The EFCC’s 11th prosecution witness, Bashirudeen Maishanu, a deputy director in the CBN’s Banking Supervision Department, made the disclosure under cross-examination by Emefiele’s lawyer, Matthew Burkaa, SAN, confirming that $2.5 million was carved out of the wider $6.23 million withdrawal at the centre of the case.
Maishanu said he previously made a similar admission to Jim Obaze, the special investigator appointed by President Bola Tinubu to examine the CBN’s activities during Emefiele’s tenure. According to the witness, he only realised the withdrawal was tainted when Obaze confronted him with documents that, he said, bore forged signatures of former President Muhammadu Buhari and former SGF Boss Mustapha.
Crucially, Maishanu told the court he never received instructions directly from Emefiele and did not hand any money to him, saying the directives he acted on came from Eric Ocheme, identified in court as Emefiele’s personal assistant, who the witness said is now unreachable.
He testified that he became uneasy after he and others involved were handed $2.5 million as a “gift” despite no prior agreement, describing it as “outrageous” and saying he suspected a set-up. He said $1.9 million of the sum was paid to a developer, that he did not formally report the gift internally, and that he has since refunded a substantial portion to the federal government; he told the court he was suspended by the CBN.
Justice Hamza Muazu adjourned proceedings to Friday, Jan. 30, 2026, for continuation of trial.
