A Dispatch rider, Monday Osazuwa, has testified before a Lagos High court sitting in Ikeja that the former Governor of the Central Bank, Godwin Emefiele, instructed him not to keep any record of the monies he allegedly collected on Emefiele’s behalf.
Osazuwa, who is the first prosecution witness in the trial of Emefiele, took the witness box again on Monday following an application granted by Justice Rahman Oshodi of the Ikeja Special Offences Court for his recall.
According to him, Emefiele instructed him not to keep any records of all the money he collected for him.
Emefiele is standing trial over alleged abuse of office and money laundering to the tune of $4.5bn and N2.8bn
At the start of the trial on April 12, 2024, Monday Osazuwa, the dispatch rider and first prosecution witness, provided his testimony to Justice Oshodi, led by EFCC counsel Rotimi Oyedepo (SAN). He explained how Emefiele instructed him on multiple occasions to collect a total of $3 million in cash.
He said, “The highest amount I collected was $1 million, all in cash, and some weeks later, the businessman also called me, and I collected $850,000, $750,000, and $400,000 cash in tranches.”
Osazuwa noted that he did not keep any records of these transactions, stating, “I did not keep records of transactions because the instructions he (Emefiele) gave me was that I should collect the money and bring it to his house.”
He further explained that upon delivering the cash to Emefiele’s residence, he was instructed to hand it over to the second defendant, Omoile, whenever Emefiele was not at home.
Osazuwa testified that he had known Emefiele since his time at Zenith Bank, where Emefiele was his boss before he later joined him at the Central Bank of Nigeria (CBN). He shared that he worked as a dispatch rider at Zenith Bank from 2001 until he became a contract staff at the CBN in 2014.
Additionally, he mentioned that he was later appointed as a senior supervisor responsible for recording and filing documents while working in the governor’s office in Lagos. “I perform as a senior supervisor, recording and filing with other official roles,” he said.
During cross-examination by the first defense counsel, Mr. Abdulakeem Labi-Lawal, Osazuwa explained that Emefiele communicated instructions to him through the second defendant and that he had been responsible for collecting cheques for Dummies Oil and Gas. After four additional witnesses testified in the case, the defense counsel requested the court to recall Osazuwa.
Mr. Kazeem Gbadamosi (SAN), representing the second defendant, informed the court of a motion on notice dated May 6, 2024. Gbadamosi sought permission from the court to recall the first prosecution witness, Osazuwa. On May 18, 2024, Justice Oshodi approved this request.
At the resumed hearing on Monday, Emefiele’s counsel, Ojo, asked Osazuwa if he had ever provided any written instructions from Emefiele to EFCC operatives during his statements. Osazuwa responded that he mentioned this in his statement.
When asked if he had supplied any documents showing where he recorded the money collected for Emefiele, he stated, “There is no document produced.”
He clarified, “The instructions given to me by the first defendant was that I should not write anything down.” He also confirmed that he did not have any documents from either defendant acknowledging the receipt of money.
In response to a question about the importance of keeping financial records, Osazuwa acknowledged that it was necessary for record-keeping and future reference, but admitted, “I did not produce any record; I obeyed the instructions based on the money I collected for him.”
The defense counsel then requested that Osazuwa be given the extrajudicial statements he made on February 13, 15, and 23, 2024, to refresh his memory.
After reviewing the statements, Osazuwa noted, “I did not state it in my statement, but he instructed me not to record it. He instructed me that whenever he was not around, I should just go straight and give it to the second defendant.”
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When asked about his detention in EFCC custody, he mentioned that he was held for one week before being granted bail. Osazuwa also indicated that there were no witnesses present when he handed over the money to Emefiele.
During cross-examination by the second defense counsel, Adeyinka Kotoye (SAN), he was asked to clarify his earlier statement about counting the money in the envelope for Emefiele. Osazuwa replied, “It was Mr. Raja who counted the money.”
Earlier, the fifth prosecution witness, a business relationship manager with Zenith Bank Plc, Mrs Ifeoma Ogbonnaya, in the conclusion of her testimony, said she gave the statements of accounts of Comec, Limelight, and Amswin Resources Limited addressed to Mrs Margaret Emefiele (Emefiele’s wife) to the regulators.
She also said that of all the documents available to her as the representative of Zenith Bank, there was nothing in the document connecting Emefiele.
Ogbonnaya further told the court that she had no dealings with the second defendant (Henry Isioma-Omoile).
She said, “I do not have any relationship with the second defendant on any of the three accounts mentioned.”
In his testimony, the sixth Prosecution Witness, John Ogah, told the court that he was a staffer at Zenith Bank, where he worked as secretary to Emefiele when he was the Managing Director of the bank.
Led in evidence by the prosecuting counsel, Rotimi Oyedepo (SAN), the witness stated that he later joined the CBN, still as Secretary (in charge of administration) to the governor of CBN.
He said he was responsible for receiving all internal and external mail for the governor of CBN and also directed his attention to them.
“I worked in the CBN Governor’s Office and took instructions from the CBN Governor, Godwin Emefiele,” he added.
Asked if he knew one Adetola John, the witness said, “Yes, I know Adetola; he was my colleague. We worked together in the CBN governor’s office; he was in the Lagos office, while I was in the Abuja office.”
He further told the court that while working for the first defendant (Emefiele), he was asked to give documents to the account officer of three companies, namely, Limelight, Comec, and Answin Resources Limited in Zenith Bank.
He said, “I scanned the document and sent it to the account officer of three companies, namely, Limelight, Comec, and Answin Resources Limited in Zenith Bank, through his official email.”
The case was adjourned till October 30 for continuation of trial.
