A staff of the Central Bank of Nigeria (CBN), Mr Monday Osazuwa, has testified in a Lagos Special Offences Court in Ikeja, revealing how the former CBN Governor, Godwin Emefiele, directed him to collect $3 million in cash in tranches on several occasions.
Osazuwa, who was led in evidence by the Economic and Financial Crimes Commission (EFCC) Counsel, Mr Rotimi Oyedepo (SAN), stated that he was previously a dispatch rider at Zenith Bank before joining CBN as a contract staff in 2014.
He further revealed that Emefiele was the Managing Director of Zenith Bank while he worked as a dispatch rider in the bank. When he joined CBN, he was appointed as a senior supervisor in recording and filing documents while working in the governor’s office in Lagos.
Osazuwa recalled that in 2020 when Emefiele was out of Lagos, he called him and gave him the number of a man who would give him an envelope containing money. When he arrived at the man’s office, he counted the money and gave it to his boss, Emefiele.
The witness further revealed that Emefiele sent him to MINL Ltd when he was in Zenith Bank, and he would collect cheques from the company and give them back to Emefiele, who would then lodge the money into Dummies Oil and Gas.
Emefiele’s co-defendant, Henry Isioma-Omoile, lived in the former governor’s residence, and Osazuwa would take the money to Emefiele’s residence at Iru Close, Ikoyi when he collected it for his boss.
Also Read: Businessmen Remand in Correctional Facility Over N2.7 Billion Money Laundering
The witness said that the instructions he received from Emefiele were that he should collect the money and bring it to his house.
He also revealed that he had never been rewarded or given anything for his services.
Under cross-examination by the Defence Counsel, Mr Abdulakeem Labi-Lawal, the witness confirmed that he had been working with Emefiele since 2002 but could not say the precise years or months he had seen the second defendant.
However, he stated that he was sure that Isioma-Omoile had been living in Emefiele’s house for several months.
He also confirmed that Emefiele passed instructions to him through the second defendant and that he had been collecting cheques for Dummies Oil and Gas.
Justice Rahman Oshodi declined the oral application for adjournment twice by the defence counsel.
The judge adjourned the case until April 29 for trial and hearing of the application for a closed section.
