A prosecution witness on Wednesday told the Federal Capital Territory (FCT) High Court in Maitama, Abuja, how he disbursed over N1.6 billion allegedly on the instructions of a former Governor of the Central Bank of Nigeria (CBN), Godwin Emefiele.
NAIJAONPOINT , Richard Agulu, said the funds were released following directives conveyed through Mr Emefiele’s aide, Eric Ocheme.
Mr Agulu, the third prosecution witness and a former staff member of Zenith Bank, gave his testimony while being led in evidence by the prosecution counsel, Rotimi Oyedepo, a Senior Advocate of Nigeria (SAN), in the ongoing trial of Mr Emefiele over alleged acquisition of multimillion-dollar properties in Abuja.
According to NAIJAONPOINT , the funds disbursed were not kept in Mr Emefiele’s personal account with Zenith Bank but stored in the bank’s vault or in designated accounts.
“The funds were disbursed based on the instructions of the former CBN governor through his aide, Eric Ocheme,” he said.
The Economic and Financial Crimes Commission (EFCC) had accused Mr Emefiele of unlawfully acquiring an estate comprising 753 housing units and retaining billions of naira in proxy accounts while serving as CBN governor.
Mr Ocheme, described as Mr Emefiele’s assistant, was named as a co-suspect and is currently at large.
However, Mr Emefiele pleaded not guilty to all eight counts when he was arraigned in June 2025.
At the resumed hearing, Mr Agulu told the court that Mr Emefiele served as Managing Director of Zenith Bank before his appointment as CBN governor, while Mr Ocheme was also a staff member of the bank before becoming his personal assistant.
“Mr Eric (Ocheme), as the personal assistant to the defendant, used to run errands for him. On the defendant’s instruction, I used to receive cash from Eric and disburse the same when needed,” Mr Egoro said.
When shown the bank account of Ifeabigo Integrated Services, NAIJAONPOINT confirmed that the account belonged to a friend, Peters Adebayo, a businessman involved in construction, agency, and merchandising in Abuja.
He told the court that between 2020 and 2022, Mr Ocheme instructed him to deposit various sums into the account on behalf of Mr Emefiele.
According to him, N75 million was deposited in February 2021, followed by N134.5 million in March 2021, N123 million in April, N32 million in May, and N132 million in June 2021.
He further stated that in July 2021, two cash deposits of N100 million and N70 million were made, alongside a transfer of N99 million within the same month.
For August 2021, NAIJAONPOINT said deposits included N40 million and N45 million, followed by eight additional deposits comprising six tranches of N50 million each, N25 million, and N5 million.
In the same month, he said he transferred N600 million and N300 million from the Ifeabigo Integrated Services account to MG Properties Limited.
Mr Agulu added that N700 million was also transferred from the Kelvito Integrated Services account to MG Properties Limited on the same day, though the relationship between the company and the case remained unclear.
“I transferred a total sum of N1.6 billion to MG Properties Limited on the defendant’s instruction through Mr Eric,” NAIJAONPOINT said.
He further testified that other transfers included N225 million on 25 August 2021, as well as three deposits of N50 million, N60 million, and N50 million on 30 August 2021.
In September 2021, N300 million was paid into the account from Ace Frozen Foods Ventures. However, on the same day, he withdrew N225 million in cash, which was collected by Mr Ocheme.
He said similar transactions continued from October 2021 until January 2022.
Mr Agulu also told the court that some deposit narrations read “CD/Peter Adebayo,” reflecting the name of the account’s signatory.
Despite confirming the transactions, NAIJAONPOINT denied knowing their purpose.
“I was confronted with these transfers by the EFCC, and I confirmed that I was instructed to make the transfers to MG Properties by Eric on behalf of the defendant. I do not know the purpose of the transfers,” he said.
Under cross-examination, he acknowledged that such transactions could only be authorised by the account owners or signatories.
Earlier in the proceedings, the EFCC tendered Access Bank’s response on the Ace Frozen Foods Ventures account through its second witness, Olomotam Egoro, a compliance officer with the bank.
While the account mandate listed Kamaru Lasisi and Raphael Ibhafidon Uguomore as signatories, the documents did not identify the owners of the business, and the link between the company and the case remained unclear.
Mr Egoro also confirmed during cross-examination that Mr Emefiele’s name did not appear in the documents presented by the EFCC.
The trial judge, Yusuf Halilu, subsequently adjourned the case until 16 February.
This case is one of several trials Mr Emefiele has been facing since his removal from office in 2023. He is currently standing trial before two judges in Abuja and another in Lagos.