I Collected Various Sums Of Money In Dollars On Emiefele’s Behalf And Instruction, CBN Staffer Tells Court
Kemisola Oye
A staff member of the Central Bank of Nigeria (CBN) earlier today narrated to a Lagos Special Offences Court sitting in Ikeja how former governor of the bank, Mr Godwin Emefiele, on different occasions, directed him to collect the sum of $3 million cash in tranches.
Led in evidence by the prosecution counsel, Mr Rotimi Oyedepo (SAN), Mr Monday Osazuwa narrated to the court how he served as a dispatch rider in Zenith Bank and later joined the CBN as well as ran errands for the former CBN governor.
The witness told the court that he worked with Zenith Bank Plc as a dispatch rider between 2002 to 2014 before he joined the CBN.
He said, “I joined the CBN in 2014 as a contract staff and became a staff in 2015. I have known the first defendant since when he was a Deputy Director of Zenith Bank and he later became Director. I have worked with him since then.”
He told the court how the former CBN governor, on different occasions, directed him to collect the sum of $3 million cash in tranches.
Osasuwa said that he was later appointed as a Senior Supervisor (full-time) in recording and filing documents while working in the Governor’s Office in Lagos.
“I was still working in the Governor’s Office when I was appointed as a full staff and we usually communicated through WhatsApp and email. I worked as a senior supervisor, recording and filing with other official roles.”
He further stated that sometime in 2020, the first defendant sent him on an errand.
“When he called me, he directed that I should call a businessman who gave me $1 million on his behalf. Some weeks later, the first defendant also called me that I should meet the man and he gave me $850,000, $750,000 and $400,000 cash in tranches.”
Osazuwa further confirmed to the court that he knew Dumies Oil and Gas Limited while he was in Zenith Bank Plc. He added that the former CBN governor, who was also the MD of the company, always sent him to collect cheques from one Mr Monday.
The witness told the court that he always logged the money into the account of Dumies on the order of Mr Emefiele.
When he was asked where the second defendant resided, he responded that
Henry Isioma Omoile lived in the residence of the former CBN governor.
His words, “Whenever I received the money and took it to the residence of Mr Emefiele, he always told me to give it to the second defendant whenever he was not at home.
“I did not keep a record of transactions because the instruction he gave me was that I should collect the money and bring the money to his house. The highest amount I collected was $1 million, all in cash.
“He has never for once said take this. I have never been rewarded, paid, or given anything because I was doing it out of faithfulness and he knew I was faithful to him.”
However, under cross-examination by the defendant’s counsel, Mr Abdulakeem Labi-Lawal, the witness confirmed to the court that he had been working with the defendant since 2002 but he could not say the precise years or months he had been seeing the second defendant.
Mr Osazuwa said that he was sure that Omoile had been living in Emefiele’s house for some months.
He affirmed that Emefiele passed instructions to him through the second defendant and that he had been collecting cheques for Dumies Oil and Gas.
“I started collecting cheques for Dummies Oil and Gas when I was in Zenith Bank. I can not recall the exact year I have been collecting the cheques but it all started when the first defendant was the MD at Zenith Bank and I was working at Zenith Bank Plc.”
The witness told the court that when he was made to confront the second defendant during investigation, the second defendant didn’t admit that instructions were passed through him.
Earlier before the trial, the judge refused the defendant’s counsel’s request for adjournment twice. Justice Rahman held that he could not continue in a cycle, there must be an end to submission.
He ruled that the request for adjournment was unjustified. The judge recalled that he earlier inquired from the defendant’s counsel if he objected to the accelerated hearing request by the prosecution, to which he told the court he had no objection.
Justice Oshodi subsequently adjourned the case to 29 April for trial and hearing of the application for a closed session for some of the prosecution witnesses.
Eighteen-Eleven Media
