A prosecution witness of the Economic and Financial Crimes Commission, Jim Obazee, has told the Federal Capital Territory High Court that $6.23 million allegedly withdrawn from the Central Bank of Nigeria for foreign election observer logistics did not get to the intended beneficiaries.
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Obazee, a former Chief Executive Officer of the Financial Reporting Council of Nigeria and Special Investigator appointed by President Bola Tinubu to probe the CBN and related entities, testified on Friday before Justice Hamza Muazu in the ongoing trial of former CBN Governor, Godwin Emefiele.
Emefiele is being prosecuted by the EFCC on an amended 20-count charge bordering on conferring corrupt advantages, conspiracy, criminal breach of trust, forgery and obtaining by false pretence in relation to the alleged withdrawal of $6.23 million from the CBN’s Abuja branch.
Led in evidence by EFCC counsel, Rotimi Oyedepo, SAN, Obazee told the court that the money was allegedly earmarked for foreign election observer missions during the 2023 general election but was fraudulently withdrawn from the vault of the apex bank.
According to him, the withdrawal pushed the CBN’s dollar account meant for internal staff and ministries, departments and agencies into a negative balance of ₦2.858 billion.
The witness said the money left the Abuja branch of the CBN on February 3, 2023, without proper documentation showing the receiving officer or the final beneficiaries.
He stated that the transaction ought to have been reflected in the CBN’s 2022 financial statement, which he said was signed in May 2025, and should have been detected by the bank’s external auditors, Ernst & Young, as well as internal auditors of the apex bank.
Obazee also told the court that the CBN’s Bank Verification Number portal was non-functional for more than a month around the period of the withdrawal, making it difficult for the recipient of the money to present proper identification before collecting the funds.
Giving details of the alleged authorisation process, the witness said a letter purportedly from former President Muhammadu Buhari to the then Secretary to the Government of the Federation, Boss Mustapha, authorised the release of funds from the CBN for election observer logistics.
He said a follow-up letter from Mustapha to Emefiele introduced one Jibril Abubakar and authorised him to collect the money on behalf of the Federal Government.
According to him, another letter from the CBN’s Director of Banking Supervision to the branch controller authorised the release of the funds and identified the person to collect them.
Obazee, however, maintained that although the money was physically removed from the CBN vault, there was no evidence that it delivered any economic benefit to the Federal Government, the CBN or any foreign election observer mission.
“The money was actually taken, but did not flow to the supposed beneficiaries,” he said.
The witness further alleged that Emefiele’s failure to flag the negative balance in the affected account indicated that he was aware of the alleged fraudulent transaction.
He also told the court that part of the money was recovered from one Bashir Maishanu, whom he said confessed to the alleged crime and returned $856,500 to the special investigative team.
Obazee added that a former Attorney-General of the Federation, whom he said he personally interviewed, could not explain why the $6.23 million transaction was omitted from his handover notes before leaving office in May 2023.
During cross-examination by Emefiele’s counsel, Matthew Burkaa, the witness admitted that all persons interviewed by the special investigative team, including Emefiele, denied involvement in or knowledge of the transaction.
The defence subsequently informed the court that it would file a no-case submission on behalf of the former CBN governor.
Justice Muazu adjourned the matter until October 20, 2026, for further proceedings.
The allegations remain claims before the court, and Emefiele is presumed innocent until proven guilty.
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