How Ex-CBN Gov Emefiele Allegedly Awarded Multi-Billion Contracts to Wife, In-Law, Witness Reveals

• The EFCC has brought Emefiele to court on 20 charges related to suspected corruption and forgery
• Margaret Emefiele, his wife, was previously declared wanted by the Commission, along with Anita J. Omoile and her husband Jonathan Omoile, for alleged involvement in money laundering
• Michael, a witness, was involved in the investigation by a team comprising the EFCC, ICPC, CCB, DSS, and the Nigerian Police

Legit.ng journalist Segun Adeyemi has over 9 years of experience covering political events, civil societies, courts, and metro

FCT, Abuja — A witness in the trial against former Central Bank of Nigeria Governor Godwin Emefiele has revealed that Emefiele allegedly awarded 45 contracts totalling billions of naira to relatives and associates, including his wife and a CBN employee.

Agboro Michael, an investigator with the ICPC, specified two beneficiaries: April 1616 Investment Limited, owned by an associate of Emefiele, and Architekon Nigeria Limited, owned by Emefiele's wife.

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The witness also mentioned that one of Margaret Emefiele's brothers also received contracts.

The testimony against Emefiele

The witness said:

“My Lord, these companies were awarded about 45 contracts to supply Toyota Vehicles. We were worried as investigators as to how a particular company would get bids concurrently to supply vehicles.

"We did our investigation and discovered that the company was not even accredited by Toyota.”

Mr Michael, the seventh prosecution witness, gave this testimony about Mr Emefiele's case at the FCT high court on Monday, March 11.

Michael, part of a multi-agency investigative team probing Emefiele's actions as CBN governor, revealed details highlighting instances where companies linked to Mr Emefiele involved Sa'adatu's relatives as directors despite her being a civil servant.

Michael emphasised that contracts awarded by Emefiele aimed to provide corrupt benefits to the recipients, as per findings from the joint investigation by ICPC, EFCC, CCB, and SSS.

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Antecedents of Emefiele's trial

After serving nearly a decade as the governor of the CBN, Mr. Emefiele now faces corruption allegations following President Bola Tinubu's removal from office last June.

He stands accused of multiple charges, including corruption, conspiracy, breach of trust, forgery, and obtaining money under false pretences, totalling $6.23 million.

Mr Emefiele pleaded not guilty to these charges during his re-arraignment in January.

During a recent hearing, Mr Michael provided evidence as led by the prosecuting counsel for the EFCC, Rotimi Oyedepo, a Senior Advocate of Nigeria.

Emefiele's schemes without Buhari's approval

In another report, Emefiele reportedly withdrew billions of dollars without the approval of President Muhammadu Buhari.

According to Ajuri Ngelale, spokesperson for President Bola Tinubu, Emefiele had the opportunity to carry out such actions because he was overseeing his activities.

Ngelale also stated that Nigeria's foreign reserves suffered significant depletion during Emefiele's controversial tenure as the CBN governor.

Source: Legit.ng