A Director in the Federal Ministry of Finance, Ali Mohammed, on Tuesday told the Federal Capital Territory High Court in Maitama, Abuja, that the ministry was unaware of the withdrawal of N124.86 billion from the Central Bank of Nigeria.
Mohammed, who testified as the 10th prosecution witness, PW10, in the ongoing trial of former CBN Governor, Godwin Emefiele, disclosed this while being led in evidence by prosecution counsel, Abbas Mohammed.
A statement released by the Economic and Financial Crimes Commission, EFCC, said the witness said he appeared in court after the ministry received a letter from the investigation team concerning N154 billion reportedly withdrawn by the CBN.
Explaining his responsibilities, Mohammed said the Department of Home Finance comprised three divisions, State and Public Finance, Trade, and Banking and Other Financial Institutions, all of which were under his supervision.
He said that after receiving the investigator’s letter, he contacted the three divisions to determine whether they had any knowledge of the transaction.
According to him, none of the divisions was privy to the transaction.
Mohammed said the State and Public Finance Investment Division was particularly relevant because it oversees the CBN.
He told the court that, as a civil servant, he could not assume that the Minister of Finance had authorised the transaction and therefore wrote through the Permanent Secretary to the Office of the Accountant-General of the Federation, OAGF, to determine whether it was aware of the withdrawal.
The witness said the OAGF responded that it was not aware of the transaction and concluded that the money constituted a direct credit from the CBN.
Mohammed said he subsequently prepared a memo detailing the communication between his office and the Accountant-General and sought clearance for the response to be forwarded to the Special Investigator.
“I responded via a memo of what has transpired between my office and that of the AGF and sought for clearance for such document to be forwarded to the Special Investigator. Subsequently, the letter was forwarded,” he said.
He said the documents sent to the Special Investigator included a letter bearing the Federal Ministry of Finance’s logo, which he signed, and an attached letter signed by the Accountant-General of the Federation.
The witness identified the documents when they were shown to him in court, after which the prosecution sought to tender them in evidence.
Asked about the whereabouts of the originals, Mohammed said they had been forwarded to the Special Investigator. He therefore sought to tender certified true copies of the documents.
Defence counsel, Olalekan Ojo, SAN, raised no objection.
Justice Maryanne Anineh subsequently admitted the documents in evidence and marked them Exhibits AJ, AK and AL.
Explaining Exhibit AJ, Mohammed said its import was that the Federal Ministry of Finance had no knowledge of the N124.86 billion withdrawal.
He said he relied on the letter from the Accountant-General before signing the document.
On Exhibit AL, the witness said it contained confirmation from the OAGF that it was not aware of the transaction involving the N124.86 billion.
Referring to Exhibit AJ, particularly its third line, Mohammed read: “Accordingly, the figure under consideration was classified in the Ministry’s record as a direct debit letter by the Central Bank of Nigeria.”
Explaining the phrase, he said: “Direct debit means it was withdrawn from the Central Bank of Nigeria without recourse of any office in Nigeria. That is what it means.”
The witness further told the court that, ordinarily, the OAGF, which was supervised by the Federal Ministry of Finance, would have to be directed before any withdrawal was made.
He added that the letter did not indicate that the Ministry of Finance had directed the OAGF to make the withdrawal, particularly from the Consolidated Revenue Fund.
Earlier, prosecution witness nine, Hamisu Abdullahi, Director of Banking Services at the CBN, continued his testimony.
The prosecution reminded Abdullahi that during his cross-examination on May 4, 2026, he had referred to a specific email and asked whether he could still remember it. He answered in the affirmative.
He explained that the email was generated from the CBN’s computer system, certified as a true copy, signed and accompanied by a certificate of compliance.
According to him, the email conveyed a directive from the then CBN governor to recover N1.4 billion debited from the receivables account from the Consolidated Revenue Fund.
When shown the document, Abdullahi confirmed that he could identify it.
The prosecution subsequently tendered the email and its accompanying certificate. Ojo, SAN, raised no objection, prompting Justice Anineh to admit them as Exhibits AH1 and AH2 respectively.
Following the conclusion of Abdullahi’s testimony, the court discharged him from the witness box.
Justice Anineh adjourned the case until October 7, 2026, for cross-examination and continuation of the trial.
Emefiele is being prosecuted by the Economic and Financial Crimes Commission, EFCC, on a four-count charge bordering on alleged disobedience to lawful directives and unlawful acts allegedly resulting in harm to members of the public in connection with the controversial naira redesign policy.
