An Assistant Manager with Zenith Bank Plc, Mrs. Ifeoma Ogbonnaya, has narrated how Mr. Godwin Emefiele, the former Governor of the Central Bank of Nigeria (CBN), moved funds to his wife, Mrs. Margaret Emefiele. Ogbonnaya testified before an Ikeja Special Offences Court on Tuesday, detailing how Emefiele used the bank to transfer multimillion naira amounts to his wife through various companies.
Emefiele is currently on trial for abuse of office and alleged involvement in $4.5 billion and N2.8 billion fraud during his tenure. Ogbonnaya, the fifth prosecution witness, was led in evidence by the Economic and Financial Crimes Commission (EFCC) Counsel, Mr. Rotimi Oyedepo (SAN).
Ogbonnaya explained how Emefiele used Zenith Bank to transfer millions of naira in tranches to his wife through companies such as Amswing Resources and Solution, Limelight Dimensional Service Ltd., Omec Support Service Ltd., and Mango Farm.
“Limelight manages the facilities of CBN, located at Alakija, and all transactions pertaining to power and fixing things that are not working were always done by the vendors,” she said.
Ogbonnaya, who also serves as a Business Relationship Manager, joined Zenith Bank in 2006. She stated that she never had direct dealings with the ex-CBN governor but received instructions from his wife to transfer cash from CBN into their private companies through Zenith Bank accounts.
She mentioned that apart from Mrs. Emefiele, she also received instructions from two other individuals, Mr. John Ogah and Mr. Opeyemi Oludimu, who worked for the Emefieles but are now deceased. Ogbonnaya managed the various companies’ accounts through which the multimillion naira was sent.
“Mrs. Margaret Emefiele, the ex-CBN governor’s wife, is the direct beneficiary of the accounts. The companies sent transfer instructions to my email, and Margaret is the beneficial owner of the accounts. All transactions made in the accounts were confirmed by Mrs. Emefiele before they were processed. She sends transfer instructions directly to my official email address with Zenith Bank or sends two other persons to act on her behalf, but I still receive approval from her,” she said.
Ogbonnaya provided specific instances of cash flows from the CBN to the accounts, including amounts such as N18.9 million and N1.8 million in March 2015, N43 million in February 2021, N37.3 million in July 2022, N44.6 million in October 2022, and N93.1 million in May 2023.
She usually communicated with Mrs. Emefiele through email, phone calls, and WhatsApp to confirm transactions before processing them. The bundles of documents detailing these transactions were printed from her office desktop computer and provided to law enforcement during the investigation.
“The documents were sent to my email, and when the investigation started, I was requested to print all the documents to the law enforcement, which I did. I printed from the office desktop and took them to the compliance officer. I also have a certificate confirming that these documents were printed from Zenith Bank,” Ogbonnaya said.
The prosecution sought to tender the bundles of documents detailing the transactions between Ogbonnaya and Mrs. Emefiele. Emefiele’s Counsel, Mr. Olalekan Ojo (SAN), and the second defense counsel, Mr. Kazeem Gbadamosi (SAN), did not object to the admissibility of the documents. Consequently, the court admitted the certificate of identification and the bundle of printed documents into evidence.
Ogbonnaya also explained the inflow and outflow of funds purportedly sent from the CBN through Zenith Bank to Emefiele’s wife. The prosecution requested the witness to write down the number she used to communicate with Mrs. Emefiele on an A4 paper, which was admitted into evidence. However, she stated that she could not remember some digits of the number by heart but could recall it through her mobile phone. The defense counsel objected to the witness recalling the number through her phone.
Justice Rahman Oshodi had earlier granted the second defense counsel’s application to recall the first prosecution witness, Monday Osazuwa. Emefiele was arraigned on April 8 on 23 counts of abuse of office, accepting gratifications, corrupt demand, receiving property fraudulently obtained, and conferring corrupt advantage. His co-defendant, Henry Omoile-Isioma, was arraigned on three counts of acceptance of gifts by agents. Both defendants pleaded not guilty.
The judge adjourned the case until July 10 for the continuation of the trial. (NAN)
