A former Director of Information Technology of the Central Bank of Nigeria (CBN), Mr John Ayoh, has testified in court how he collected $600,000 allegedly for contract gratification for the ex-governor of the bank, Mr Godwin Emefiele.
Ayoh, who spent eight years in the apex bank and was the Head of the Procurement and Support Services (PSS) Department, was led in evidence by the Economic and Financial Crimes Commission (EFCC), counsel, Mr Rotimi Oyedepo (SAN) at the Special Offences Court in Lagos.
Ayoh told the court that he received a letter from the agency concerning two transactions he facilitated through Emefiele. The witness informed the court that the vendors who allegedly brought the envelopes with money were in charge of implementing Netapp Storage Architectural and Infrastructural Services.
According to Ayoh, the first envelope containing $400,000 was brought to his house in Lekki, while he received the second envelope containing $200,000 at the Tinubu Head Office of the CBN.
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He was vested with powers to receive applications for the award of contracts to select successful bidders.
Ayoh confirmed to the court that Emefiele was not a member of the PSS but a member of the Major Contract Tender Committee (MCTC). He added that he had never facilitated the commission of any crime.
The witness also revealed that he operated under duress while he received the two envelopes from the contractors. However, he did not indicate in his statement that he was forced to aid or abet the commission of accepting gratification.
During cross-examination by the first defence counsel, Mr Olalekan Ojo (SAN), Ayoh told the court that his duties did not include running errands for Emefiele but he worked directly under him.
The judge adjourned the case until May 3 for the continuation of cross-examination.
