The former Secretary to the
Government of the Federation (SGF), Mr Boss Mustapha, testified on Tuesday as a
witness in the trial of Mr Godwin Emefiele, the ex-governor of the Central Bank
of Nigeria (CBN), at a High Court in Maitama, Abuja.
Mustapha, who was the fourth witness for the prosecution (PW-4), disclosed in
court that his signature and that of ex-President Muhammadu Buhari were
falsified by the people who withdrew $6,230,000 from the CBN vault on February
8, 2023.
He stated
that he was not aware of or involved in any communication about the withdrawal,
which was intended for foreign election observers.
The former SGF said that neither his office nor the presidency gave any
approval for the withdrawal, while being questioned by the counsel for the
Economic and Financial Crimes Commission (EFCC), Mr Rotimi Oyedepo, SAN.
He also said that he did not receive any part of the money.
Mustapha condemned the purported authorization letter from his office, saying
that it was not the duty of the federal government or the SGF to ask for funds
from the CBN for foreign election observers. He said that this duty belonged
only to the Independent National Electoral Commission (INEC).
He distanced himself from the withdrawal, saying, “I never saw these documents
during my time as the SGF.”
He then explained why the document could not have come from the president: “A
correspondence with the Nigerian seal does not need a reference number. The
seal is the authority itself.”
“Also, Federal Executive Council (FEC) decisions are not sent through letters.
They are sent through extracts after conclusions are reached.”
“I am the keeper of FEC, and the president would not send executive conclusions
to me.”
“In my five years and seven months in office, I never came across the term
‘Special Appropriation Provision’, as used in this document.”
“The terms I know, my lord, are ‘appropriation’ as provided by the
Appropriation Act passed by the National Assembly. When the government submits
drafts, we bring Supplementary Appropriation.”
“In all the correspondences I got from Buhari, they never had the phrase,
‘Please accept the assurance of my highest regard.’”
“I am his junior, and my correspondences do not have that.” And finally, about
the signature, it is a failed attempt to copy Buhari’s signature. I’ll leave it
to the experts," he said.
Before his testimony, Mr Onyeka Ogbu, an official of the apex bank, told the
court that the money was withdrawn and given in cash to an official named
Jibril Abubakar from the office of the SGF.
He said that this action was approved by both President Buhari and the former
CBN governor, Emefiele, in response to a request from the former SGF, Mustapha.
However, during his testimony, the former SGF told the court that he did not
know Abubakar and confirmed that he was not a staff in his office.
He also told the court that contrary to the claim in the letter, President
Buhari did not preside over the FEC meeting on the day the alleged approval was
given. Instead, it was the then Vice President, Prof. Yemi Osinbajo, SAN.
The trial Justice Hamza Muazu has adjourned the hearing until March 7.
The ex-CBN governor is facing an amended 20-count charge brought against him by
the EFCC.
The charges against him include criminal conspiracy, forgery, breach of trust,
and the allegation of giving himself undue advantage.
The EFCC alleged that the defendant obtained about $6.2 million by false pretenses,
claiming that he misrepresented the SGF.
He was charged with an offence that violates Section 1(1) of the Advance
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