Finance Ministry unaware of N124.86bn CBN withdrawal — Witness tells Court in Emefiele trial

The Federal Ministry of Finance had no knowledge of a ₦124.86 billion withdrawal from the Central Bank of Nigeria (CBN), a ministry director told the Federal Capital Territory High Court in Maitama, Abuja, on Tuesday.

Testifying as the tenth prosecution witness (PW10) in the ongoing trial of former CBN Governor Godwin Emefiele, Ali Mohammed, Director in the Department of Home Finance, told the court that the transaction was conducted without the ministry’s input.

He explained that upon receiving an investigative inquiry concerning ₦154 billion, he consulted the three divisions under his supervision, State and Public Finance, Trade, and Banking and Other Financial Institutions none of which were privy to the transaction.

The State and Public Finance Investment Division oversees the CBN, and civil service protocols dictate that the finance minister does not disburse funds directly to individuals or organizations, Mohammed escalated the inquiry. Through the ministry’s permanent secretary, he wrote to the Office of the Accountant-General of the Federation (OAGF), the government’s payment custodian, to verify its awareness of the transaction.

According to Mohammed, the OAGF responded in writing that it was entirely unaware of the transaction. Relying on this feedback, Mohammed documented the findings and, following clearance, forwarded the records to the Special Investigator.

In the courtroom, Mohammed identified the documents, which included a letter bearing the Ministry of Finance logo and an accompanying letter from the OAGF. With no objections from defense counsel Olalekan Ojo, SAN, Justice Maryanne Anineh admitted and marked the documents as Exhibits AJ, AK, and AL.

Reading from the exhibits, Mohammed clarified that the figures were classified in ministry records as a direct debit by the CBN.

He defined a direct debit as funds withdrawn from the apex bank without recourse to any other office in Nigeria.

He further noted that normal procedures require the OAGF which is supervised by the Ministry of Finance to receive directives prior to withdrawals, particularly from the Consolidated Revenue Fund, which was absent in this case.

Earlier in the proceedings, the ninth prosecution witness (PW9), Hamisu Abdullahi, Director of Banking Services at the CBN, concluded his testimony.

He presented a certified email generated from the bank’s system, complete with a certificate of compliance, which conveyed directives from the former CBN governor to recover a ₦1.4 billion debit in the receivables account from the Consolidated Revenue Fund. With no defense objections, Justice Anineh admitted the email and its certificate as Exhibits AH1 and AH2, subsequently discharging the witness.

Justice Anineh adjourned the trial to October 7, 2026, for the cross-examination of PW10 and the continuation of proceedings. Emefiele faces a four-count charge brought by the Economic and Financial Crimes Commission (EFCC) concerning alleged disobedience to lawful directives and unlawful actions linked to the contentious naira redesign policy.