Dismiss criminal breach of trust, forgery case against me, Emefiele tells court

The immediate past Governor of the Central Bank of Nigeria (CBN), Godwin Emefiele, on Tuesday urged the High Court of the Federal Capital Territory (FCT) to dismiss the criminal breach of trust, conspiracy, and forgery charges brought against him, arguing that he has no case to answer.

However, the Economic and Financial Crimes Commission (EFCC), prosecuting the former apex bank chief on behalf of the Federal Government, declared that it had established a prima facie case against Emefiele and that he should be ordered to open his defence.

Emefiele is standing trial before Justice Hamza Muazu, sitting in Maitama, Abuja, on an amended 20-count charge, marked FCT/HC/CR/577/2023, bordering on criminal breach of trust, forgery, abuse of office, conspiracy to obtain by false pretence, and obtaining money to the tune of $6,230,000 by false pretence while serving as CBN governor.

The money was purportedly meant for international election observers during the 2023 general election.

Emefiele was further accused of conferring corrupt advantages on two companies: April 1616 Nigeria Ltd and Architekon Nigeria Ltd.

He, however, pleaded not guilty to the charges preferred against him by the anti-corruption commission on behalf of the Federal Government.

At the resumed hearing of the case, the former CBN chief, through his counsel, Matthew Burkaa (SAN), urged the court to uphold the no-case submission filed on Emefiele’s behalf.

In adopting Emefiele’s no-case submission, Burkaa argued that the prosecution bore the burden of proving that the defendant had committed the alleged crimes.

The Senior Advocate told the court that the entirety of the prosecution’s case from Counts 1 to 14 alleged that Emefiele conferred an unfair advantage on his close associates, including his wife and brother-in-law.

He asserted that none of the witnesses called by the prosecution testified that Emefiele personally benefited from the award of the contracts or manipulated the CBN Tenders Board Committee to award contracts to the two companies.

According to Burkaa, “No such evidence was identified.The only thing the prosecution was able to show was that the man (Emefiele) was the head of the bank who issued approvals.

“There was nothing to show that he manipulated the committee. There was nothing to show that he told the committee (Tenders Board Committee of the CBN) what to do.

“The evidence showed that April 1616 and Architekon carried out the work that CBN gave them contract to carry out.

“So, the corruption would have been, they collected money and they did not do the work.

“The unfairness would have been that he manipulated the process to get them to have the contract.”

Burkaa further argued that prosecution witnesses clearly stated that there was a justifiable basis for awarding the contracts to the two companies, submitting that the firms submitted the lowest bids compared to competitors.

Emefiele’s counsel added that contrary to the prosecution’s claim that the two companies were guided in their bids, “yet they (prosecution) couldn’t show who guided them, in what way they were guided, what documents show that they were guided, no, nobody documented”.

On Counts 15 to 20, which centre on the withdrawal of $6.23 million from the CBN and alleged forgery, Burkaa told the court that the counts were introduced while the trial was already underway.

He reminded the court that former Secretary to the Government of the Federation (SGF), Boss Mustapha, testified that both his signature and that of former President Muhammadu Buhari were forged.

Burkaa noted that Emefiele likewise told the EFCC during interrogation that his own signature had been forged, arguing that in light of these allegations, Mustapha and Buhari should have been investigated.

He consequently urged the court to uphold the no-case submission, discharge, and acquit Emefiele.

In response, prosecuting counsel Rotimi Oyedepo (SAN), who is also the Director of Public Prosecutions of the Federation (DPPF), urged the court to dismiss the defendant’s no-case submission, maintaining that Emefiele used his public office to confer an unfair advantage on Architekon, where his wife and brother-in-law were listed as directors.

He argued that the contracts referenced in Counts 1 to 14 did not pass through the CBN Tenders Board Committee, despite exceeding the mandatory N10 million approval threshold.

Oyedepo submitted, “The committee was circumvented for reviewing the contracts.”

The prosecutor told the court that April 1616 was guided to quote the in-house estimate, thereby denying other Nigerian contractors an equal opportunity.

According to him, “That is not an honest mistake, that is an unfair advantage in the process.”

He further submitted that the withdrawal of $6.23 million from the CBN under the defendant’s watch should concern both the court and the general public, describing the act as a clear breach of trust.

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Rejecting the defence’s claim that Emefiele was unaware of the withdrawal and was being singled out for persecution, Oyedepo argued that the evidence presented did not support that position.

Oyedepo pointed out that the release of the funds was predicated on two key documents that former SGF Mustapha testified were forged.

He added that internal mechanisms had triggered an alert to Emefiele while in office, yet he took no remedial steps before his departure—a fact confirmed by PW15—meaning the defendant must be called to explain his actions.

After hearing submissions from both legal teams, Justice Muazu reserved his ruling on the no-case submission.