An Economic and Financial Crimes Commission (EFCC) witness on Friday failed to link Godwin Emefiele to accounts in Zenith Bank in the alleged property fraud case.
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Emefiele, a former governor of the Central Bank of Nigeria (CBN), is charged with property fraud, among other allegations.
The property in question is located at Plot 109, Cadastral Zone C09, Lokogoma District, Federal Capital Territory (FCT), Abuja, covering 150,462.86 SQM and comprising 753 housing units.
Emefiele and Eric Ocheme, who is at large, are also charged with unlawfully holding billions of naira in proxy accounts at Zenith Bank.
At the resumed hearing in an Abuja High Court, the first prosecution witness (PW1), Mshelia Arhyel, a compliance officer at Zenith Bank, was led in evidence by prosecution counsel, Rotimi Oyedepo, SAN. The witness narrated how funds were received and deposited into the accounts of three companies: MG Properties Limited, Ifedigo Integrated Services, and Kelvito Integrated Services. He also mentioned the names of cash depositors and transfer recipients, including Chukwuma Opara, Peters Adebayo, and Wilson.
Under cross-examination by Matthew Burkaa, SAN, Emefiele’s counsel, the witness stated that he did not know the owner of the accounts. He further revealed that he was not called by the EFCC to make a statement regarding the accounts and did not know he would testify.
He admitted signing the certificate of compliance on May 29 but did not know it would be used as evidence. When asked whether Emefiele’s name appeared on the account opening documents, he said no.
Justice Yusuf Halilu adjourned the trial until November 26 for continuation after cross-examination.
Earlier, Emefiele, through his counsel, challenged the court’s jurisdiction to entertain the suit, arguing that he had no link to the charges and that the case should be quashed. Burkaa presented a preliminary objection seeking three orders and six grounds, supported by affidavits and a written address, urging the court to grant the prayers on a point of law.
Prosecution counsel Oyedepo opposed the application, arguing that the charge should not be quashed because the defendant is linked to it. After submissions, the court asked both parties to proceed with the trial, noting that their arguments would be considered.
In count one of the charge, the EFCC accused Emefiele and Ocheme of knowingly controlling the housing estate suspected to have been unlawfully obtained. In count two, they were alleged to have possessed N167 million domiciled in Kelvito Integrated Services’ account. Count three alleged they held N1.23 billion in the same account.
In other counts, they were linked with N900 million and N600 million in Ifedigo Integrated Services’ account domiciled with Zenith Bank, sums EFCC claimed were suspected to have been unlawfully obtained.
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