753 Duplexes: Witness admits no direct dealings with Emefiele

The third prosecution witness in the trial of former Governor of the Central Bank of Nigeria, Godwin Emefiele, over the alleged unlawful acquisition of a 753-unit housing estate in Abuja, on Monday admitted that he had no direct dealings with the former apex bank chief.

The witness, Richard Agulu, a former Zenith Bank employee now with the Nigerian Communications Commission, made the admission while being cross-examined by Emefiele’s counsel, Matthew Burkaa (SAN), before Justice Yusuf Halilu of the Federal Capital Territory High Court, Maitama, Abuja.

Agulu told the court that although he had earlier testified to disbursing over N1.6bn linked to Emefiele, he neither received the funds directly from the former CBN governor nor witnessed him hand over any money.

“From the evidence I provided, I said I received the funds through his personal assistant (Eric Ocheme).

“I have not seen the first defendant giving money to Mr Ocheme, but he gives instructions through his phone to carry out transactions”, the witness said.

The witness further admitted that he did not have Emefiele’s telephone number and never spoke with him directly, explaining that any communication attributed to the former CBN governor came through his former aide, Eric Ocheme.

He added, “I acted based on the defendant’s voice on the phone.”

However, when asked whether he specifically stated in his extra-judicial statement to the Economic and Financial Crimes Commission that he received instructions through telephone conversations, Agulu replied, “What I can remember in my statement is that I got my instructions from the defendant through Mr Ocheme. I cannot remember whether it was through the phone or not.”

The defence subsequently sought to tender the witness’s statement to the EFCC to refresh his memory.

The move sparked arguments between the defence and the prosecution, led by the Director of Public Prosecutions, Rotimi Oyedepo (SAN), over the admissibility of the document.

After initial objections, the prosecution withdrew its opposition, paving the way for the court to admit the statement in evidence.

At an earlier sitting in January, Agulu had testified that he disbursed more than N1.6bn on Emefiele’s instructions through Ocheme.

He had told the court that while serving as a Zenith Bank official, he received cash from Ocheme and deposited various sums into accounts belonging to Ifeabigo Integrated Services before transferring about N1.6bn to MG Properties Limited between 2020 and 2022.

The witness had maintained that the transactions were carried out on Emefiele’s instructions conveyed through Ocheme.

The EFCC is prosecuting Emefiele on an eight-count charge bordering on the alleged unlawful acquisition of a 753-unit housing estate in Abuja and the concealment of billions of naira in proxy accounts while serving as CBN governor.

The anti-graft agency alleged that Emefiele and Ocheme, who is said to be at large, used proxy companies and accounts to acquire the estate and warehouse illicit funds. Emefiele has pleaded not guilty to all the charges.