The trial of the former Governor of the Central Bank of Nigeria, CBN, Godwin Emefiele, continued on Wednesday, January 21, 2026, before Justice Yusuf Halilu of the Federal Capital Territory, FCT, High Court, Maitama, Abuja, with detailed testimonies from the third and second prosecution witnesses, shedding light on alleged complex cash movements and bank transactions running into billions of naira.
Emefiele is being prosecuted by the Economic and Financial Crimes Commission, EFCC, on an eight-count charge bordering on criminal breach of trust, conspiracy, forgery and unlawful possession of properties suspected to be proceeds of crime to the tune of ₦7,831,002,396.
Led in evidence by Rotimi Oyedepo, SAN, the witness, Prosecution Witness 3, PW3, Richard Agulu, a staff of the Nigerian Communications Commission, NCC, told the court that he joined the Commission in 2023 after working with Zenith Bank from July 2007 to March 2023. He said he served in the Maitama branch of the bank and some others.
Agulu recalled that while he was at Zenith Bank, Jim Ovia was the Managing Director before Godwin Emefiele took over the position. According to him, Emefiele regularly visited the Abuja branches and left Zenith Bank in 2014 when he was appointed Governor of the CBN.
The witness also told the court that he knew one Eric Ocheme, who was a staff of Zenith Bank before moving to the Central Bank of Nigeria to work as Emefiele’s personal assistant.
Explaining the nature of his dealings with the defendant, PW3 said that while at Zenith Bank, staff salaries and entitlements were paid through accounts domiciled with the bank. He added that, in the course of his duties, transactions occurred involving Emefiele and Eric.
“My Lord, Mr. Eric, as the personal assistant to the defendant, used to run errands for him. On the defendant’s instruction, I used to receive cash from Eric and disburse same when needed,” he testified.
According to PW3, the cash he received was either warehoused in the bank’s vault or deposited into certain accounts. When asked on whose behalf he received the funds, he stated clearly that he received the cash on behalf of the defendant, Godwin Emefiele.
Although he acknowledged that Emefiele had an account with Zenith Bank, PW3 said the funds were not paid into the defendant’s personal account but were kept and disbursed strictly based on instructions conveyed through Eric.
PW3 was shown Exhibits B, C and D and identified Exhibit B as the account of Ifeabigo Integrated Services. He told the court that the account belonged to a friend of his, Mr. Peters Adebayo, a businessman involved in construction, agency and merchandising, who resides in Abuja.
The witness said that between 2020 and 2022, he lodged several sums into the Ifeabigo Integrated Services account using funds he received from Eric on behalf of the defendant. He then proceeded to analyse the transactions in chronological order.
According to him, on February 3, 2021, two transfers of ₦20 million and ₦30 million, totaling ₦50 million, were paid into the account. This was followed by a ₦25 million transfer on February 24, 2021.
On March 4, 2021, PW3 said he personally deposited ₦19 million and ₦12.5 million in cash. On March 9, 2021, further deposits of ₦14 million and ₦9 million were made. On March 31, 2021, ₦50 million was received by transfer, while an additional ₦30 million was deposited in cash on the same day.
He told the court that on April 15, 2021, ₦24 million was deposited in cash, while on April 21, 2021, two transfers of ₦99 million each were credited into the account. On May 10, 2021, ₦19 million and ₦13 million were deposited, and on June 17, 2021, a transfer of ₦72 million was received.
The witness testified that on June 28, 2021, multiple deposits totaling ₦60 million were made, foll
