Bank Staff Testifies on Emefiele's Billions in Court

A Zenith Bank official told the FCT High Court in Maitama, Abuja, on Tuesday, how normal procedures were ignored for deposits and withdrawals of billions of naira for former Central Bank of Nigeria (CBN) Governor Godwin Emefiele.

Richard Agulu, the third witness for the Economic and Financial Crimes Commission (EFCC), identified Macaulay Ihekoronya, a former head of operations at Zenith Bank, as someone who granted these waivers.

Mr Agulu said his bosses, including Mr Ihekoronya, approved waivers for transactions at different times.

He also mentioned that he made such decisions at times, which made the defence team question why he was not facing trial for breaking banking rules.

Mr Agulu explained that some transactions involved moving money between accounts in the bank, following Mr Emefiele’s orders, and deposits outside regular banking hours.

Though he insisted he did nothing wrong, he acknowledged that these transactions did not follow banking procedures but were permitted through waivers.

He argued that some situations justified transactions at odd hours, but the defence suggested he should be charged for it.

Mr Emefiele was the Group Managing Director of Zenith Bank before becoming CBN governor in 2014. President Bola Tinubu removed him from office in June 2023 to face investigations and trials for alleged fraud and corruption.

The ex-CBN governor is currently facing multiple charges in various courts. In this case, EFCC is prosecuting him on eight counts, including criminal breach of trust, conspiracy, forgery, and unlawful possession of properties believed to be proceeds of crime worth ₦7.8 billion.

The EFCC also named Mr Emefiele’s aide, Eric Ocheme, who is reportedly on the run, as involved in the questionable transactions.

The prosecution claimed that billions of naira tied to Mr Emefiele were stored in proxy accounts owned by Kelvito Integrated Services and Ifeadigo Integrated Services at Zenith Bank.

According to the EFCC, Mr Emefiele kept large sums in these proxy accounts and wrongfully acquired a property with 753 housing units in Abuja while serving as CBN governor. The commission has already received a final forfeiture order for the estate, although Mr Emefiele is appealing this decision.

Mr Emefiele has denied all accusations against him.

Mr Agulu, who now works at the Nigerian Communications Commission (NCC), had previously explained how he distributed funds on Mr Emefiele’s behalf. On Tuesday, during cross-examination by defence lawyer Matthew Burkaa, a Senior Advocate of Nigeria (SAN), Mr Agulu reiterated his role in handling large transactions linked to Mr Emefiele.

He said he received instructions from Mr Emefiele to collect cash from Mr Ocheme and distribute it accordingly. Mr Emefiele usually sent these instructions through Mr Ocheme’s phone.

With 17 years of banking experience, the witness told the court that the withdrawals he made from deposits for Mr Emefiele into Ifeadigo Integrated Services and Kelvito Integrated Services accounts were confirmed by the actual account owners and signatories.

He added that he had verbal waivers from his bosses to handle Mr Emefiele’s requests. "My lord, for every transaction, I followed normal banking transaction procedures," he insisted, maintaining he followed the rules.

"I followed the steps for cash deposits, but there are different scenarios for different transactions. There are waivers for some customers who can bring cash into the bank. I didn’t get a written approval, but I received a verbal waiver from my superiors to handle the defendant's transaction."

Mr Agulu also mentioned that he oversaw a transfer of ₦1.6 billion to MG Properties Limited on Mr Emefiele’s orders through Mr Ocheme.

Defence lawyer Mr Burkaa questioned why the witness did not follow Zenith Bank’s rules for cash lodgements. The witness paused and said, "I do not want to put anyone in trouble."

This prompted intervention from trial judge Yusuf Halilu. "It is an issue of fairness," the judge said and encouraged the witness to speak.

Despite this, the witness looked down and remained silent. EFCC’s lawyer, A.O Mohammed, told the witness, "If you cannot remember to tell the court, you cannot remember."

Mr Burkaa replied, "You are giving the witness a hint." This brought laughter in the courtroom, but the judge reminded everyone that the witness said he did not want to implicate anyone.

While Mr Burkaa noted it was okay if the witness did not want to put anyone in trouble, the judge asked the witness to answer the question.

"The head of operations, then, Macaulay Ihekoronya," the witness stated.

Mr Burkaa drew attention to Zenith Bank’s rules on cash lodgements. He asked the witness to open page five of the policy, which describes how cash should be counted, stamped, and moved to the supervising note counter and head teller.

Mr Burkaa then asked if the witness followed this procedure. The witness responded, "While it (procedure) is correct, this policy is obsolete; by the time I was leaving the bank, it was no longer in use."

Mr Burkaa pressed him again if he followed any steps. The witness replied, "You are imposing a big burden on me. Other intermediaries handled some transactions."

But Mr Burkaa assured him that he would ask those intermediaries if they followed the rules. The witness then stated, "I followed the steps for cash deposits."

Yet, he insisted that there were different situations for cash lodgements, and the one the defence referred to was different. He explained that approvals and waivers were needed for particular requests like Mr Emefiele’s alleged instructions to transfer funds.

He said these transactions did not occur during regular banking hours. The defence pressed him on which of Zenith Bank’s policies allowed these situations. "It is not a policy but a waiver," the witness said.

Mr Agulu explained that the waiver was verbal, not written. In February, he said Chukwuma Okpala, owner of Kelvito Integrated Services, and Peter Adebayo, owner of Ifeadigo Integrated Services, confirmed certain transactions he mentioned in his earlier testimony in January.

Mr Agulu admitted he deposited money and noted the names of Mr Okpala and Mr Adebayo as depositors. When asked if he thought this was wrong, the EFCC lawyer objected, saying the witness was not on trial.

During Tuesday’s session, Mr Burkaa asked again if Zenith Bank allowed its staff to deposit cash for account holders. The witness maintained that some situations required waivers. Mr Burkaa asked him to name the officer who gave the waiver.

This time, Mr Agulu said, "There was no officer who authorized me; in that case, I did it myself."

When asked if the EFCC knew about this, the witness said, "Yes."

"Have they charged you for these actions?" Mr Burkaa asked, but EFCC’s lawyer, A.O Mohammed, interrupted, stating it was the prosecution that decides who to charge.

The judge allowed the question. The witness replied, "No."

Mr Burkaa then requested the court to notice the witness’s behavior in avoiding questions, but Mr Mohammed insisted that it was the defence's responsibility to ask the court to take note, and the court would decide.

The judge remarked that Mr Burkaa’s request was professional. The judge then let the witness go and postponed proceedings until November 3.

In February, Mr Agulu revealed that Mr Adebayo, the owner of Ifeadigo Integrated Services, was his friend. This company is named in the charges as one of the entities used to transfer suspicious funds for Mr Emefiele.

Mr Burkaa tried to present the Corporate Affairs Commission (CAC) status report of Rites Impex Project Limited, but the EFCC objected to it being accepted because it was not certified. On Tuesday, the defence presented it again in court.

The CAC listed both Mr Agulu and Mr Adebayo as directors of the company. However, the witness clarified that the company never got off the ground. The defence aimed to show a business relationship between the witness and Mr Adebayo.