A prosecution witness, Chinedu Eneanya, on Monday told Justice Hamza Muazu of the Federal Capital Territory (FCT) High Court, Maitama, Abuja, that a total sum of $6.23 billion was allegedly siphoned from the coffers of the Central Bank of Nigeria (CBN) under the guise of funding foreign election observers.Eneanya, who appeared as the 13th prosecution witness (PW13) in the ongoing trial, gave the testimony in the case instituted by the Economic and Financial Crimes Commission (EFCC) against former CBN Governor, Godwin Emefiele, who is facing an amended 20-count charge bordering on criminal breach of trust, forgery, abuse of office, and conspiracy to obtain by false pretence.Led in evidence by prosecution counsel, Rotimi Oyedepo, SAN, the witness told the court that he was part of the investigative team that probed the allegations against the defendant. He stated that findings from the investigation revealed that the sum of $6.23 billion was withdrawn from the CBN, purportedly for the funding of foreign observers during the 2023 general election.According to him, several individuals linked to the movement of the funds were invited and interviewed, while documents authorising the disbursement were obtained from the apex bank.Eneanya further told the court that the investigation uncovered that the signatures of former President Muhammadu Buhari and former Secretary to the Government of the Federation, Boss Mustapha, were allegedly forged to facilitate the release of the funds. He added that forensic analysis conducted on the documents confirmed that the signatures were not genuine.During cross-examination, defence counsel, Matthew Burkaa, SAN, questioned the witness on internal processes at the CBN. Eneanya responded that five officials of the bank who signed the internal memo relating to the transaction had since been suspended.Earlier, Burkaa had urged the court to foreclose the prosecution’s case if it failed to produce its remaining two witnesses at the next adjourned date, alleging a deliberate attempt to delay proceedings.However, Oyedepo opposed the application, explaining that the prosecution was not stalling the trial but encountering difficulties in securing the attendance of the remaining witnesses, who are currently outside the court’s jurisdiction in Benin City and Lagos.He appealed to the court not to shut out the prosecution from presenting its case.In his ruling, Justice Muazu advised both parties to reserve their arguments on the application until the stage of final addresses. He also directed the prosecution to work with the court registrar to issue subpoenas to compel the attendance of the witnesses.The matter was adjourned until April 28, 2026, for continuation of trial.
