How Emefiele’s PA, others shared ‘$6.2m stolen from CBN vault–report

Documents have shown how a  personal assistant to embattled former governor of the Central Bank of Nigeria, Godwin Emefiele, Odoh Eric Ocheme and other top CBN officials allegedly shared $6,230,000 cash stolen from the Central Bank of Nigeria (CBN), on February 8, 2023.

President Bola Tinubu had set up a special investigative team, led by Jim Obaze, to probe the tenure of Godwin Emefiele, former CBN governor.

The team had claimed that $6.2 million was removed from the apex bank’s vault under the guise of paying election observers.

In the court documents, investigators characterised the crime as an insider job primarily carried out by CBN staff members with the cooperation of two outsiders known as Adamu Abubakar and Imam Abubakar.

Investigators claimed that Odoh Eric Ocheme, Emefiele’s personal assistant, received $3,730,000 of the funds, with three other people splitting the remaining $2,500,000.

Ocheme was said to have justified his lion’s share by claiming he had to pay other interests he had within the apex bank.

Some of the beneficiaries were said to have invested their shares of the loot, estimated at N1.4 billion, in real estate, part of which has now been recovered.

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Some of the details of the investigation are contained in an affidavit filed alongside an extradition charge pending against Adamu Abubakar, Imam Abubakar and Odoh Eric Ocheme before the  Abuja federal high court.

Adamu Abubakar, Imam Abubakar and Ocheme are said to be at large and are believed to have fled the country, hence, the extradition proceedings.

In the affidavits, one of the investigators, a deputy superintendent of police (DSP), said the team obtained copies of the withdrawal slip as well as the accompanying documents, CBN memos, dated 07/02/2023 and  31/01/2023 respectively.

They also obtained “a letter dated 2/01/2023 purportedly written by Muhammadu Buhari to Boss Mustapha and a letter dated 20/01/2023 purportedly written by Boss Mustapha to Mr Godwin Emafiele, which the Central Bank of Nigeria,  Abuja Branch relied on in making the payment”.

The DSP said investigations revealed that both letters were forged and did not emanate from the office of the then president and SGF. At the same time, Jibril Abubakar, whose identity card was used to cash the money in question, was not a staff of the SGF office.

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“We watched the Closed-Circuit Television (CCTV) footages of the 08/02/2023 being the day the money in question was cashed, and the payee (Jibril Abubakar) could not be identified by the staff of either the CBN or that of the office of the secretary to the government of the federation, where he falsely represented himself to be working,” the document read

“A further study of the Closed-circuit Television (CCTV) footage revealed that a staff of the  Abuja Branch of the Central Bank of Nigeria, identified as Abdulmajeed Muhammad received the impostor (Jibril Abubakar) at the gate of the bank when he arrived on the fateful date: 08/02/2023.

“Abdulmajeed Muhammad was consequently arrested and in his statement made on 15/12/2023, he admitted helping the impostor into the  Abuja Branch of the Central Bank of Nigeria, but claimed that he did that innocently, the impostor having been referred to him by Bashirudeen Maishanu; a Senior Staff of the CBN.

“Abdulmajeed Muhammad further revealed that prior to 08/02/2023 when the impostor came to cash the money in question, he (Abdulmajeed Muhammad) had been invited by Bashirudeen Maishanu to explain the procedure of public officials making cash withdrawal from the CBN as those persons claimed to be officials from the office of the SGF and that the then president had approved certain fund for official assignment.

“We visited Kuje Correctional Centre, where we interviewed Godwin Emefiele, who purportedly approved the memos authorising the payment, as then CBN and he denied seeing, talk less of approving such memos.

“We also arrested some concerned staff of the Central Bank of Nigeria, who denied any involvement in the crime, before we finally arrested Bashirudeen Maishanu, who corroborated the account of Abdulmajeed Muhammad and further confessed to have been involved in the crime which, according to him was perpetrated by himself and the first to third defendants/respondents – Adamu Abubakar, Imam Abubakar and Odoh Eric Ocheme.

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“Bashiru Maishanu further confessed that himself, the first and second defendants/respondents (Adamu Abubakar and Imam Abubakar) shared the sum of  $2,500,000.00 from the stolen money, while the third defendant/respondent (Odoh Eric Ocheme), being a fellow staff of the Central Bank of Nigeria, kept the balance of $3,730,000.00 claiming that he had other interests to settle in the CBN.

“Bashirudeen Maishanu further confessed that both himself, and the first and second defendants/respondents jointly invested the United States dollars equivalent of the sum of N1, 440,000,000.00 into real estate business of Afrolyk Global Ltd.

“The managing director of the said Afrolyk Ltd, Aminu Lawal has been arrested and he confirmed the investment by Bashirudeen Maishanu, Adamu Abubakar and Imam Abubakar, and already refunded the sum of $200 000 00 to the special investigator’s team as part of the money he (Aminu Lawal) received as part of the purported investment.

“Cash of about $400,000 00 has also been voluntarily returned by Bashiru Maishanu from part of his remaining share of the money in question.

“The money (the $6,230,000) was received in cash from the Central Bank at Nigeria and also shared in the same cash by the defendants/respondents and others, making it difficult to trace the monies without arresting the defendants/respondents.

“It was later revealed that the third defendant –  Odoh Eric Ocheme – was the Personal Assistant to Godwin Emefiele as the CBN governor while the  first and second defendants (Adamu Abubakar and Imam Abubakar) are businessmen and associates of Bashirudeen Maishanu.”

Emefiele is standing trial on a 20-count amended criminal charge preferred against him by the Economic and Financial Crimes Commission (EFCC).

The amended charges border on alleged criminal breach of trust, forgery, conspiracy to commit forgery, procurement fraud and conspiracy to commit a felony.