The Third Prosecution Witness (PW3), Richard Agulu, in the trial of the former governor of the Central Bank of Nigeria (CBN), Godwin Emefiele, on Tuesday, disclosed that he banked billions of naira in cash for Emefiele in Zenith Bank.
Agulu, who said he was a former staff of the bank, stated this before Justice Yusuf Halilu of the Federal Capital Territory (FCT) High Court, Maitama, Abuja.
Emefiele and his alleged stolen billions
He further disclosed that he banked the billions of naira in cash for Emefiele brought by his personal assistant, Eric Ocheme.
The witness disclosed under cross-examination by defence counsel, Mathew Burkaa SAN that he would usually lodge the sums in the accounts of Ifeabigo Integrated Services and Kelvito Integrated Services or deposit them in Zenith Bank’s vault, all on Emefiele’s instruction.
The former staffer of Zenith Bank also told the court that while he was with the bank, he was under Emefiele’s instructions, to receive cash from Ocheme and disburse them according to his instruction.
The former CBN governor, he said, would usually convey the instructions to him through Ocheme’s phone.
Agulu, who disclosed that he worked in the banking sector for 17 years, stated that the withdrawals made from the deposits he made for Emefiele into Ifeabigo Integrated Services and Kelvito Integrated Services accounts were authenticated by the real account owners and signatories.
He added that he had verbal waivers from his superiors to attend to the transactions of the defendant.
“My Lord, for every transaction, I followed normal banking transaction procedures. I followed the steps for cash deposition.
“But there are different scenarios for different transactions. There are waivers for some certain customers who can bring cash into the bank.
“I was not given a written approval but I was given a waiver to attend to the transaction of the defendant which was verbal from my superiors. I cannot mention names. I don’t want to put somebody in trouble,” he said.
Agulu further revealed that he supervised the transfer of ₦1.6 billion to MG Properties Limited on Emefiele’s instruction, through his personal assistant, Ocheme.
Justice Halilu adjourned the matter till November 3,4,5, 2026 for the continuation of trial.
The former CBN governor is being prosecuted by the Economic and Financial Crimes Commission (EFCC) on an eight-count charge, bordering on criminal breach of trust, conspiracy and forgery.
He is also being prosecuted for an alleged unlawful possession of properties suspected to be proceeds of crime to the tune of ₦7,831,002,396 billion.
