Emefiele Used Forged Document To Request $6.2m – Court Hears

The trial of former Central Bank of Nigeria (CBN) Governor Godwin Emefiele continued today, March 7, at the Federal Capital Territory High Court in Abuja, with forensic analyst Bamaiyi MMeriga confirming that the documents used to request $6.2 million in payment for foreign election observers were forged.

The witness, Bamaiyi Meriga, called by the Economic and Financial Crimes Commission (EFCC), informed the court that after a forensic study of the disputed documents, he discovered clear evidence of signature forging, as well as a seal of execution that differed from the original.

He also stated that the signatures were neither those of former President Muhammadu Buhari nor former Secretary General of the Federation (SGF) Boss Mustapha.

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Justice Muazu, the trial court, admitted the two documents, Presidential Directive on Foreign Observer Election and Presidential Directive on Foreign Observer Election, which were offered in evidence.

Under cross-examination by Emefiele’s attorney, the witness stated that he was not an EFCC employee and that his salary was not paid by the anti-graft agency, but rather by the Nigeria Immigration Service.

Emefiele’s counsel, Matthew Burkaa, expressed concern with the witness’s conduct, claiming that the witness deceived the court by ducking questions.

However, the Prosecution Counsel, Rotimi Oyedepo, was dissatisfied with the defence counsel.

The trial has been postponed until March 11 for continuation.

Emefiele is on trial before Justice Muazu on 20 revised accusations of corruption, conspiracy, criminal breach of trust, forgery, and gaining by false pretences totalling $6,230,000.

He was accused of impersonating the SGF to illegally obtain $6.2 million.

The former SGF, on the other hand, testified before the court that he had no knowledge of the transaction until he left office at the end of May 2023 and that despite serving for five years and seven months, the paper in question did not originate from the office of then-President Buhari.

A Gentle Reminder: Every obstacle is a stepping stone, every morning; a chance to go again, and those little steps take you closer to your dream.

Nnamdi Okoli