A prosecution witness of the Economic and Financial Crimes Commission, EFCC, Richard Agulu, has told the High Court of the Federal Capital Territory, FCT, that he did not receive direct instructions from former Governor of the Central Bank of Nigeria, CBN, Godwin Emefiele, to make payments into companies’ accounts linked to the disputed 753 housing units in Abuja.
Agulu, the third prosecution witness, PW3, made the clarification on Tuesday during cross-examination by Emefiele’s lead counsel, Mathew Burkaa, SAN.
The former CBN governor is standing trial on an eight-count charge bordering on alleged unlawful acquisition of a mass housing estate containing 753 housing units and apartments in Abuja.
He is also accused of conspiring with his former aide, Eric Ocheme, who is said to be at large, to allegedly acquire the property and control billions of naira through proxy accounts.
During cross-examination, Agulu admitted transferring over N5 billion into the accounts of two companies, Ifeadigo and Kelvito Investment, without following normal banking procedures.
He told the court that due process was not followed because the transactions were carried out outside official banking hours.
The witness said the instruction to carry out the transfers came from Ocheme, who was said to be Emefiele’s Personal Assistant, and not directly from the former CBN governor.
Agulu also admitted that he deposited cash into customers’ accounts while indicating in the transaction narrations that the deposits were made by the account owners.
He further admitted that he was not put on trial by the EFCC despite circumventing banking procedures in the cash lodgements he carried out.
When asked why the transactions were processed outside normal procedure, Agulu said he obtained an oral waiver from the Zenith Bank Head of Operations, Macaulay Iheaoronye, to carry out the lodgements.
Confronted by defence counsel with Zenith Bank’s operational policy procedures, the witness said the transactions were carried out without due process because of the peculiar circumstances at the time.
Agulu also told the court that he had no physical contact with Emefiele throughout the transactions.
He further confirmed that in his statement to the EFCC, he never claimed that he delivered payment receipts to the former CBN governor.
At the end of the cross-examination, Emefiele’s counsel urged the court to take judicial notice of what he described as the witness’s demeanour, alleging that Agulu deliberately refused to answer questions relating to his role in the bank transactions.
However, prosecution counsel, Abbas Mohammed, objected to the application, arguing that it is solely within the court’s discretion to determine whether a witness is withholding information.
Justice Yusuf Halilu thereafter adjourned the matter until November 3 for continuation of trial.
Emefiele was arraigned by the EFCC on an eight-count charge bordering on allegedly having control of property reasonably suspected to have been unlawfully obtained.
He is being tried alongside Ocheme in the charge marked FCT/HC/CR/358/2025.
The EFCC also alleged that the defendants unlawfully kept billions of naira in proxy accounts domiciled in Zenith Bank.
In one of the counts, Emefiele was alleged to have, sometime in January 2021, forged a document titled, “Irrevocable Power of Attorney Between MG Properties Limited and H and Y Business Global Limited,” with the intention of making it appear that the document was executed by or with the authority of H and Y Business Global Limited.
The offences, according to the EFCC, contravene Sections 319, 362 and 364 of the Penal Code.
Emefiele, however, pleaded not guilty to the charge.
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