CBN under Emefiele withdrew N124.86bn from consolidated revenue account without approvals – Official

A Federal Ministry of Finance director told the FCT High Court in Maitama, Abuja, on Tuesday that N124.86 billion was withdrawn from the Consolidated Revenue Account (CRA) during Godwin Emefiele’s tenure as the Central Bank of Nigeria (CBN) governor without necessary approvals.

Ali Muhammed, who is the 10th prosecution witness presented by the Economic and Financial Crimes Commission (EFCC) in the ongoing trial of the former CBN governor, said such withdrawals required the approvals of the finance ministry and the Office of the Accountant General of the Federation (OAGF).

“The deduction of N124.8 billion is not known to the Federal Ministry of Finance,” the prosecution witness said, speaking to one of the charges brought against Mr Emefiele in the case.

The case, which includes an allegation of unlawful design of the naira spearheaded by Mr Emefiele, is one in a series of prosecutions Mr Emefiele has been facing since his removal from office in June 2023 over alleged corruption and malpractices.

In the four charges brought against him in the case, the EFCC accused him of unlawfully redesigning the naira notes and printing currency notes with the value of N684.5 million at the rate of N18.96 billion.

The prosecution accused him of unlawfully approving the withdrawal of N124.8 billion from the CRA in a move believed to be in violation of a golden rule that no money can be withdrawn from the account except in a manner prescribed by the National Assembly, usually through an Appropriation Act or budget.

The CRA, established as the Consolidated Revenue Fund in the Nigerian constitution, is the central government (the federal government) account into which most revenues received by the federation are paid and from which government expenditure is made with legislative approval.

In May, Hamisu Abdullahi, a deputy director at CBN’s domestic settlement division handling interbank transactions, said the sum of N124.8 billion was withdrawn without the National Assembly’s approval.

Mr Abdullahi explained that the money was used to settle the CBN’s “internal debts”.

No approvals from finance ministry, OAGF

On Tuesday, Mr Muhammed, the 10th prosecution witness who was led in evidence by EFCC’s lawyer A.O. Mohammed, said none of the divisions under him at the Federal Ministry of Finance that interfaces with the CBN was aware of the N124.86 billion withdrawal.

The witness, who described himself as Director of Home Finance at the Ministry of Finance, said he only received a letter from a special investigator inquiring about the N124.86 billion withdrawn from the CRA.

The witness explained that he called three divisions under his department: State Finance and Public Investments, Trade Division, and Banking and Other Financial Institutions, to find out if they were aware of the transaction.

He also said he also wrote to the OAGF, “being the custodian of all payments in the country, especially at the federal level,” in order “to find out if they were privy to such a transaction.”

He said he received a response from the OAGF via a letter that, “the OAGF is not aware of such a transaction and the office concluded that it was a direct debit from the CBN.”

Asked to explain what direct debit meant, Mr Muhammed said, “It means it was withdrawn by the CBN without recourse to any other office.”

Also asked by the prosecution lawyer if the CBN’s style of withdrawal of the funds was a standard practice, the witness said, “Usually, the OAGF and Ministry of Finance would direct deductions to be made before any withdrawal is made.”

Mr Muhammed said after making his findings, he forwarded the response to the special investigator who was, at the time, probing into Mr Emefiele’s time in office.

The prosecution lawyer tendered the letters sent from the Ministry of Finance and OAGF’s office as evidence.

Mr Emeifele’s lawyer, Olalekan Ojo, a Senior Advocate of Nigeria (SAN), did not object, prompting the trial judge, Maryanne Anenih, to admit them as evidence.

The judge adjourned the case until Wednesday for the defence to cross-examine the witness.

Prosecution’s case so far

So far, the EFCC has called 10 prosecution witnesses, including Mr Muhammed.

Many of the witnesses stressed the alleged lack of approvals from appropriate authorities for the naira redesign, which is at the heart of the trial, and other financial transactions carried out during Mr Emefiele’s time in office.

In November 2024, the fifth prosecution witness, Kingsley Obiorah, who is a former deputy governor of the CBN, said the bank’s board never recommended the naira redesign to former President Buhari.

Mr Obiorah, who testified virtually, said he once served as Special Adviser to Mr Emefiele on economic matters before becoming a deputy governor of the CBN.

He said the CBN board first heard of the naira redesign policy in mid-December 2022.

Similarly, Chinedu Eneaya, in October 2025, said Mr Emefiele embarked on the controversial redesign of naira notes in 2022 without obtaining the approval of the bank’s board and Committee of Governors (COG).

He said Mr Emefiele only sought the approval of the board and COG for the naira redesign after former President Buhari consented to it.

According to the witness, Mr Emefiele admitted this in his extrajudicial statement he wrote during the investigation, preparatory to his trial.

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Between late 2022 and early 2023, the CBN relentlessly implemented the naira redesign policy, terminating the legal tender status of the old versions of the N200, N500 and N1000 notes.

The CBN carried on with the policy even when it was clear that there were not enough new notes in circulation. The policy sparked chaos across the country, prompting some state governors to approach the Supreme Court for an intervention.

Mr Buhari staunchly defended the policy to the extent of ignoring an interim order of the Supreme Court suspending its implementation in 2023.

The case was finally laid to rest when the Supreme Court gave its final judgement on 3 March 2023, reversing the policy and forcing Mr Buhari to change course.