Witness says ₦124.86bn withdrawal not traced to Emefiele, Finance Ministry says transaction was unknown to it
A prosecution witness in the trial of former Central Bank of Nigeria governor Godwin Emefiele has told an FCT High Court that a ₦124.86 billion withdrawal by the CBN was not known to the Federal Ministry of Finance and was not traced to Emefiele during cross-examination.
Ali Mohammed, a director in the Federal Ministry of Finance and the 10th prosecution witness, had told the court on Tuesday that neither the ministry nor the Office of the Accountant-General of the Federation knew about the withdrawal.
He said the transaction was classified in ministry records as a direct debit by the CBN.
During cross-examination on Wednesday, Mohammed said Emefiele was not shown as a signatory to the ₦124.86 billion withdrawal and that the money was not traced to Emefiele’s account.
He also said the correspondence tendered in court did not identify Emefiele as the person who authorised the debit.
Those statements are evidence given by a prosecution witness under cross-examination. They are not a judicial finding and do not amount to an acquittal.
Finance Ministry says it had no prior knowledge
Mohammed told the court that the Finance Ministry became aware of the issue after receiving correspondence from investigators concerning withdrawals allegedly made by the CBN.
He said he checked with divisions under his supervision and none had knowledge of the transaction.
The witness also said he wrote to the Office of the Accountant-General of the Federation, which similarly responded that it was unaware of the withdrawal.
According to his testimony, the ministry relied on that response when preparing its memorandum to the special investigator.
Documents admitted in evidence
The court admitted correspondence between the Finance Ministry and the Office of the Accountant-General as exhibits after the defence raised no objection.
Mohammed said the documents showed that the Finance Ministry had no knowledge of the ₦124.86 billion withdrawal.
He also explained that the phrase “direct debit” referred to a withdrawal carried out by the CBN without recourse to another government office.
That remains the witness’s explanation of the documents before the court, not a final judicial finding.
Cross-examination narrows personal attribution
Wednesday’s cross-examination materially qualified the earlier prosecution evidence.
Mohammed said Emefiele was not a signatory to the Consolidated Revenue Account in relation to the withdrawal and that none of the letters before the court suggested that Emefiele personally authorised the debit.
He also said the ₦124.86 billion was not traced to Emefiele’s account.
The distinction matters because a transaction occurring during Emefiele’s tenure as CBN governor does not, by itself, establish that he personally signed, approved or directed it.
The court has not made a finding that Emefiele authorised the withdrawal.
Witness acknowledges limits of personal knowledge
Under cross-examination, Mohammed also said neither the finance minister nor the Accountant-General had queried the withdrawal.
He further said he was unaware of the underlying public transaction connected to the debit and did not have personal knowledge of any claimed Hajj-subsidy purpose linked to it.
Those answers place limits on the conclusions that can be drawn from his testimony about why the transaction occurred or whether it was lawful.
Finance Ministry ignorance of the withdrawal, by itself, is not proof that the transaction was unlawful.
Separate CBN evidence involves ₦1.4bn directive
The court had earlier heard from another prosecution witness, Hamisu Abdullahi, a CBN director of banking services.
Abdullahi identified an email which, according to his testimony, conveyed a directive from the then CBN governor to recover a ₦1.4 billion debit in a receivables account from the Consolidated Revenue Fund.
That ₦1.4 billion transaction is distinct from the ₦124.86 billion withdrawal discussed by Mohammed and should not be merged with it.
Trial remains ongoing
Emefiele is being prosecuted by the Economic and Financial Crimes Commission on a four-count charge relating to alleged disobedience to lawful directives and alleged unlawful acts linked to the naira redesign policy.
The testimony concerning the ₦124.86 billion withdrawal forms part of the prosecution case being tested before Justice Maryanne Anenih.
Prosecution evidence is not the same as a judicial finding, and the cross-examination evidence that the withdrawal was not traced to Emefiele does not dispose of the wider case.
Justice Anenih adjourned the matter to November 26, 2026, for continuation of trial.
