A Director in the Federal Ministry of Finance, Ali Mohammed, has told the Federal Capital Territory High Court in Maitama, Abuja, that the ministry was unaware of the withdrawal of N124.86 billion from the Central Bank of Nigeria (CBN) during Godwin Emefiele’s tenure as governor….
A Director in the Federal Ministry of Finance, Ali Mohammed, has told the Federal Capital Territory High Court in Maitama, Abuja, that the ministry was unaware of the withdrawal of N124.86 billion from the Central Bank of Nigeria (CBN) during Godwin Emefiele’s tenure as governor.
Mohammed, who testified as the 10th prosecution witness, PW10, gave the evidence on Tuesday while being led in evidence by prosecution counsel, Abbas Mohammed, in the ongoing trial of the former CBN governor.
The witness said he appeared before the court after the Ministry of Finance received a letter from an investigation team concerning N154 billion allegedly withdrawn by the CBN.
Explaining his responsibilities, Mohammed said he supervises the three divisions under the Ministry’s Department of Home Finance: State and Public Finance, Trade, and Banking and Other Financial Institutions.
He told the court that after receiving the investigator’s letter, he contacted the three divisions to establish whether any of them was aware of the transaction.
“None of the three divisions was privy to the transaction,” he said.
Mohammed said the State and Public Finance Investment Division was particularly relevant because it oversees the CBN.
He explained that he subsequently wrote, through the Permanent Secretary, to the Office of the Accountant-General of the Federation (OAGF) to determine whether it was aware of the transaction.
According to him, the OAGF responded in writing that it was not aware of the transaction and concluded that the money constituted a direct credit from the CBN.
The witness said the OAGF was the appropriate office to approach because it is responsible for the custody and processing of Federal Government payments.
“I responded via a memo of what has transpired between my office and that of the AGF and sought for clearance for such document to be forwarded to the Special Investigator.
Subsequently, the letter was forwarded,” Mohammed told the court.
He said the documents sent to the Special Investigator included a letter bearing the Federal Ministry of Finance’s logo, which he signed, and an attached letter signed by the Accountant-General of the Federation.
The witness identified the documents when they were shown to him in court, after which the prosecution sought to tender them in evidence.
Mohammed told the court that the original documents had already been forwarded to the Special Investigator and consequently sought to tender certified true copies.
Defence counsel, Olalekan Ojo, SAN, did not object to their admission.
Justice Maryanne Anineh subsequently admitted the documents and marked them as Exhibits AJ, AK and AL.
Explaining the significance of Exhibit AJ, Mohammed said it established that the Federal Ministry of Finance was unaware of the N124.86 billion withdrawal.
He said he relied on the Accountant-General’s response before signing the document.
On Exhibit AL, the witness said it was confirmation from the OAGF that the office was not aware of the transaction involving the N124.86 billion.
The trial continues.
