Court documents have revealed intricate details of the alleged theft of $6,230,000 from the Central Bank of Nigeria (CBN) on February 8, 2023.
A special presidential investigative team, led by Jim Obaze, has been probing the tenure of the former CBN Governor Godwin Emefiele, uncovering that the money was removed under the pretext of paying election observers.
The court documents describe the theft as an insider job, primarily orchestrated by CBN officials with the connivance of two outsiders, Adamu Abubakar and Imam Abubakar.
Investigators alleged that Emefiele’s personal assistant, Odoh Eric Ocheme, received $3,730,000, while the remaining $2,500,000 was divided among three others. Ocheme claimed his larger share was necessary to settle various interests within the CBN.
Emefiele now faces a 20-count amended charge filed by the Economic and Financial Crimes Commission (EFCC) before the High Court of the Federal Capital Territory (FCT). He has denied all charges, pleading not guilty.
Testimonies and Evidence
During a hearing on February 12, Michael Onyeka Ogbu, a Deputy Director and Head of the Service Delivery Division of the CBN, testified about the withdrawal.
Ogbu, who was the Branch Controller at the time, confirmed authorising the payment after verifying that it had the necessary approvals.
“On that day, the request for the payment of $6,230,000 was received in my office by my Office Assistant, who brought it to my attention,” Ogbu stated, adding, “When I received the document, I found that it was from the Banking Services Department. The Director, Banking Services signed the memo, and the content of the memo contained an instruction for the Branch Controller to pay the sum of $6,230,000 to a staff of the Secretary to the Government of the Federation, with the identity and the name of the person mentioned.”
He continued, “The memo said the payment was for international election observers and that we should debit an account – the Naira Forex Account – with the naira equivalent of $6,230,000.
“The memo also said that the money would be refunded in the second quarter of 2023 by the Federal Ministry of Finance. It went on to say, ‘find attached the approval of the governor of the CBN for the payment.’
“The attachment had the approval of the governor of the CBN. It also had the approval of the President of the Federal Republic of Nigeria and the request letter from the Secretary to the Government of the Federation.”
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After reviewing the documents and finding them satisfactory, Ogbu minuted on it to the Head of the Business Services Unit for processing and payment.
He confirmed, “Payment was eventually made. The $6,230,000 was paid on the 8th of February 2023. The payment was in cash.”
The Investigation Unfolds
One of the investigators, a Deputy Superintendent of Police, detailed the findings and progress in an affidavit filed along with an extradition charge pending against Adamu Abubakar, Imam Abubakar, and Odoh Eric Ocheme before a Federal High Court in Abuja. The affidavit revealed that some of the beneficiaries invested their shares of the loot, estimated at about N1.4 billion, in real estate, part of which has now been recovered.
“We commenced an investigation into the case and obtained copies of the withdrawal slip as well as the accompanying documents: Central Bank of Nigeria memos dated 07/02/2023 and 31/01/2023 respectively, staff identity card of one Jibril Abubakar, letter dated 2/01/2023 purportedly written by Muhammadu Buhari to Boss Mustapha, and letter dated 20/01/2023 purportedly written by Boss Mustapha to Mr Godwin Emefiele, which the Central Bank of Nigeria, Abuja Branch, relied on in making the payment,” the Deputy Superintendent of Police stated.
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The investigation revealed that the letters supposedly written by former President Muhammadu Buhari and former Secretary to the Government of the Federation (SGF) Boss Mustapha did not originate from their offices. Additionally, Jibril Abubakar, whose identity card was used to cash the money, was not a staff member of the SGF’s office.
CCTV Footage and Further Arrests
CCTV footage from February 8, 2023, showed that a staff member of the CBN’s Abuja Branch, Abdulmajeed Muhammad, received Jibril Abubakar at the gate of the bank. Abdulmajeed admitted to assisting Jibril, claiming innocence due to a referral from senior CBN staff member Bashirudeen Maishanu.
“Abdulmajeed Muhammad was consequently arrested, and in his statement made on 15/12/2023, he admitted helping the impostor into the Abuja Branch of the Central Bank of Nigeria but claimed that he did that innocently, the impostor having been referred to him by Bashirudeen Maishanu, a Senior Staff of the CBN,” the investigator disclosed.
Emefiele, interviewed at Kuje Correctional Centre, denied any knowledge of the memos authorising the payment. Further arrests and confessions implicated Maishanu and others in the crime. Maishanu admitted his involvement and detailed the distribution of the stolen funds.
“Bashiru Maishanu further confessed that himself, the first and second defendants/respondents (Adamu Abubakar and Imam Abubakar) shared the sum of $2,500,000.00 from the stolen money, while the third defendant/respondent (Odoh Eric Ocheme), being a fellow staff of the Central Bank of Nigeria, kept the balance of $3,730,000.00, claiming that he had other interests to settle in the CBN,” the affidavit read.
Maishanu and the others invested the stolen money in real estate through Afrolyk Global Ltd. The Managing Director of Afrolyk Ltd, Aminu Lawal, confirmed the investment and has since refunded $200,000 to the investigative team. Maishanu voluntarily returned approximately $400,000 from his share.
Ongoing Proceedings
The $6,230,000 was received in cash from the CBN and divided among the defendants and others, making it challenging to trace without arresting those involved. The investigation is ongoing, with efforts to extradite the fugitives—Adamu Abubakar, Imam Abubakar, and Odoh Eric Ocheme—back to Nigeria to face charges.
“It was later revealed that the third defendant – Odoh Eric Ocheme – was the Personal Assistant to Godwin Emefiele as the CBN governor while the first and second defendants (Adamu Abubakar and Imam Abubakar) are businessmen and associates of Bashirudeen Maishanu,” the Deputy Superintendent of Police stated.
