An investigator involved in the case of $6,230,000 allegedly stolen from the Central Bank of Nigeria (CBN) on February 8, 2023, has disclosed statements made by Godwin Emefiele, the former governor of the CBN, during an interview at Kuje prison.
Emefiele, who is facing a 20-count amended charge brought by the Economic and Financial Crimes Commission (EFCC), was previously remanded at Kuje prison. The charges against him include criminal breach of trust, forgery, conspiracy to obtain by false pretence, and obtaining money by false pretence.
In an affidavit filed before the Federal High Court in Abuja, a Deputy Superintendent of Police, part of the investigation team, provided details of their findings and progress. The officer stated, “We visited Kuje Correctional Centre, where we interviewed Godwin Emefiele, who purportedly approved the memos authorizing the payment. Emefiele denied seeing or approving such memos.”
Several staff members of the CBN were arrested, all denying involvement in the crime. However, the arrest of Bashirudeen Maishanu led to significant breakthroughs. Maishanu corroborated accounts given by Abdulmajeed Muhammad and confessed to his role in the theft, implicating Adamu Abubakar, Imam Abubakar, and Odoh Eric Ocheme.
Maishanu revealed that he, along with the first and second defendants, shared $2,500,000 of the stolen money. The third defendant, Ocheme, who was a CBN staff member, kept the remaining $3,730,000, claiming he had other interests to settle within the CBN.
Further investigation uncovered that Maishanu and the first and second defendants invested the equivalent of N1,440,000,000 in real estate through Afrolyk Global Ltd. The Managing Director of Afrolyk Ltd, Aminu Lawal, was arrested and confirmed the investment. He has refunded $200,000 to the investigation team.
Additionally, Maishanu voluntarily returned $400,000 from his share of the stolen money. The cash, totaling $6,230,000, was taken from the CBN and shared among the defendants and others, making it challenging to trace without their arrests.
It was later discovered that Ocheme was Emefiele’s personal assistant during his tenure as CBN governor, while Adamu Abubakar and Imam Abubakar were businessmen and associates of Maishanu.
The investigation continues as the authorities work to recover the stolen funds and prosecute those involved.
Oreoluwa is an accountant and a brand writer with a flair for journalism.
