Emefiele Granted N50m Bail, Case Adjourned to April 29

Funke Olaode

The Special Offences Court in Ikeja, Lagos, yesterday, granted bail of N50 million to former Central Bank of Nigeria (CBN) Governor, Godwin Emefiele.
Judge Rahmon Oshodi ruled on the bail application, granting Emefiele bail with the condition of providing two sureties for the same amount.
The former governor of the CBN is on trial facing 26 charges related to accusations of office misuse.
Meanwhile, a CBN Staff, Mr. Monday Osazuwa, yesterday, told an Ikeja Special Offences Court how former CBN Governor, Emefiele, on different occasions, directed him to collect the sum of $3 million cash in tranches.

Osasuwa, while being led in evidence by the Economic and Financial Crimes Commission (EFCC) Counsel, Mr. Rotimi Oyedepo (SAN), said he was a dispatch rider in Zenith Bank since 2001 before he joined CBN as a contract staff in 2014.
According to him, Emefiele was the Managing Director of Zenith Bank, while he was working as a dispatch rider in the bank.
He said he knew Emefiele, who was his boss while at Zenith Bank before and later joined him in CBN.

The witness said he was later appointed as a Senior Supervisor (full time) in recording and filing of documents while working in the governor’s office in Lagos.
According to him, “I was still working in the governor’s office while I was appointed as a full staff and we usually communicate through  whatsApp and email.
“I perform as a senior supervisor, recording and filing with other official roles.
“I could recall in 2020, when he was outside Lagos, he called me and said that he will give me a number that a man has something, I should collect something from him and that the man will give me another number of another person.

“When I got to man’s office, he was given an envelope, counted the money and said I should give it to my boss.”
The witness further told the court that the first defendant usually collected money by himself anytime he was in Lagos, but any time the defendant was not around, he would tell him to give the money to the second defendant
Osazuwa also added that Emefiele sent him to MINL Ltd when he was with Zenith Bank.

According to him, “This company is situated at Isolo, the first defendant do send me to collect cheques from the company from Mr. Monday and when I collect the cheque from Mr. Monday, I will give it back to Emefiele and he will lodge the money into Dumies Oil and Gas.”
According to him, Emefiele’s co-defendant, Henry Isioma-Omoile, lived in the residence of the former CBN governor.
He stated that when he collects money for his boss, he takes it to his residence at Iru Close, Ikoyi.
According to him, “Whenever I receive the money and take it to my boss residence, Mr. Emefiele will tell me to give it to the second defendant whenever he was not at home.

“I did not keep record of transactions because the instruction he gave me was that I should collect the money and bring the money to his house.
“The highest amount I collected was $1 million all in cash and some weeks later, the businessman also called me $850,000, $750,000 and $400,000 cash in tranches.
“I have never been rewarded, paid or given anything because I am doing it out of faithfulness and he knows it but he has never for once said ‘take this’.”
Under cross-examination by the Defence Counsel, Mr. Abdulakeem Labi- Lawal, the witness confirmed to the court that he had been working with the defendant since 2002, but he could not say the precise years or months he had seen the second defendant but he was sure that Isioma-Omoile had been been living in Emefiele’s house for some months.

He, however, told the court when he was made to confront the second defendant during investigation but the second defendant failed to admit it.

Earlier, Oshodi had declined the oral application for adjournment moved twice by the defence counsel.

The judge adjourned the case to April 29 for trial and  hearing of application for closed section.