The Special Investigator appointed by President Bola Tinubu to probe the Central Bank of Nigeria (CBN), Jim Obazee, on Friday told the High Court of the Federal Capital Territory (FCT), Abuja, that the late former President Muhammadu Buhari should have been among those prosecuted over the alleged $6.2 million fraud involving the apex bank.
Testifying as a prosecution witness for the Economic and Financial Crimes Commission (EFCC) in the ongoing trial of former CBN Governor Godwin Emefiele, Obazee also told the court that former Secretary to the Government of the Federation (SGF), Boss Mustapha, should face prosecution over the transaction.
Emefiele is standing trial before Justice Hamza Muazu on a 20-count charge bordering on conspiracy, abuse of office and fraud.
Led in evidence by the Director of Public Prosecutions of the Federation, Rotimi Oyedepo (SAN), Obazee was presented with documents, including a letter purportedly signed by Buhari approving the release of the $6.2 million and another allegedly issued from the Office of the SGF directing the CBN to release the funds to one Jibril Abubakar for logistics relating to foreign election observers.
The witness referred to subsequent statements by Mustapha in which the former SGF denied knowledge of the transaction and alleged that the documents, including the one attributed to Buhari, were forged.
Obazee told the court that, in his opinion, the alleged fraud involved multiple individuals and should not be limited to Emefiele alone.
He said Buhari should have been prosecuted while alive, and maintained that Mustapha, Abubakar, a CBN official, Bashirudeen Maishanu and other officials allegedly connected with the transaction should also be prosecuted.
According to him, the Abuja branch of the CBN failed to carry out adequate due diligence before releasing the funds.
He further told the court that Maishanu refunded $856,500 to his investigative panel during the investigation.
Under cross-examination by Emefiele’s counsel, Matthew Burkaa (SAN), Obazee admitted that his investigation did not recover any money from the former CBN governor and that he found no evidence that any of the alleged proceeds was transferred into Emefiele’s bank account.
He nevertheless maintained that Emefiele ought to have been aware of the transaction if the bank’s internal control mechanisms, including its CCTV system and Bank Verification Number (BVN) records, had been properly utilised.
Obazee also told the court that President Tinubu summoned him on 19 December 2023 and, in the presence of the Attorney General of the Federation and the EFCC Chairman, directed him to investigate the alleged $6.2 million fraud and prepare chargeable offences arising from the matter.
When informed during cross-examination that the charges against Emefiele had been filed before that date, Obazee said he was not a lawyer and could not explain the apparent discrepancy.
Justice Muazu subsequently adjourned the case until 20 October for the continuation of the trial.
