A former employee of Zenith Bank has told the Federal Capital Territory (FCT) High Court that he handled cash deposits worth billions of naira on behalf of former Central Bank of Nigeria (CBN) Governor, Godwin Emefiele, in the ongoing trial over an alleged N7.8 billion fraud.
The witness, Richard Agulu, appeared before Justice Yusuf Halilu on Tuesday as the third prosecution witness. He testified that the cash was allegedly delivered to him by Eric Ocheme, whom he identified as Emefiele’s personal assistant, and that he acted based on instructions linked to the former CBN governor.
During cross-examination by Emefiele’s lawyer, Matthew Burkaa, Agulu said the money was either paid into the accounts of Ifeabigo Integrated Services and Kelvito Integrated Services or kept in the bank’s vault, depending on the instructions he received through Ocheme.
Agulu told the court that while working at Zenith Bank, he regularly received cash from Ocheme and processed the transactions according to the directives he claimed came from Emefiele.
The witness, who said he worked in the banking industry for 17 years, explained that withdrawals from the accounts of Ifeabigo Integrated Services and Kelvito Integrated Services were carried out only after approval by the authorised signatories.
He also told the court that although he did not receive written approval from his superiors to handle the transactions, he was given verbal authorisation and a waiver because of the customer’s status.
According to him, he followed standard banking procedures for all the transactions, adding that some customers were allowed to make large cash deposits under special waivers. However, he declined to reveal the names of the bank officials who gave him the verbal approval, saying he did not want to implicate anyone.
Agulu further told the court that he supervised the transfer of N1.6 billion to MG Properties Limited as part of the transactions under review.
Following the day’s proceedings, Justice Halilu adjourned the case until November 3, 4, and 5 to continue the trial.
The Economic and Financial Crimes Commission is prosecuting Emefiele on an eight-count charge involving alleged criminal breach of trust, conspiracy, forgery and unlawful possession of properties believed to be proceeds of crime. Emefiele has pleaded not guilty to all the charges, while Ocheme, who was also mentioned in the case, is reportedly still at large.
