A director in the Federal Ministry of Finance, Ali Mohammed, has told the Federal Capital Territory High Court in Abuja that the ministry was unaware of the withdrawal of N124.86 billion from the Central Bank of Nigeria (CBN).
Mohammed, who testified as the prosecution’s 10th witness (PW10) on Tuesday, October 6, 2026, made the disclosure during the ongoing trial of former CBN Governor Godwin Emefiele before Justice Maryanne Anineh at the Maitama division of the court.
Led in evidence by prosecution counsel Abbas Mohammed, the witness said he appeared in court following a letter received by his ministry from the investigation team concerning N154 billion reportedly withdrawn by the CBN.
He explained that the Department of Home Finance comprised three divisions under his supervision: State and Public Finance, Trade, and Banking and Other Financial Institutions.
According to him, after receiving the investigator’s letter, he contacted the three divisions to establish whether they knew about the transaction, but none confirmed any knowledge of it.
Mohammed identified the State and Public Finance division as the relevant unit because of its responsibility for matters concerning the CBN.
He told the court that he subsequently wrote through the ministry’s Permanent Secretary to the Office of the Accountant-General of the Federation (OAGF) to determine whether it knew about the transaction, explaining that the office was responsible for federal government payments.
The witness said the OAGF replied in writing that it was unaware of the transaction and indicated that the money had been directly debited by the CBN.
“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.
Mohammed identified the documents sent to the Special Investigator, including a letter bearing the Federal Ministry of Finance’s logo and signed by him, as well as a letter signed by the Accountant-General of the Federation. He told the court that the originals had been forwarded to the investigator.
The prosecution sought to tender certified true copies of the documents, while defence counsel, Olalekan Ojo, SAN, raised no objection. Justice Anineh admitted the documents and marked them as Exhibits AJ, AK and AL.
Explaining Exhibit AJ, Mohammed said it showed that the Federal Ministry of Finance had no knowledge of the N124.86 billion withdrawal. He also said Exhibit AL contained the OAGF’s confirmation that it was unaware of the transaction.
Reading from Exhibit AJ, the witness said: “Accordingly, the figure under consideration was classified in the Ministry’s record as a direct debit letter by the Central Bank of Nigeria.”
He explained that a direct debit meant the funds had been withdrawn from the CBN without reference to any government office. He added that the documents did not show that the Ministry of Finance had directed the Accountant-General’s office to make the withdrawal, particularly from the Consolidated Revenue Fund.
Earlier, prosecution witness nine (PW9), Hamisu Abdullahi, a director in the CBN’s Banking Services Department, continued his testimony concerning an email containing a directive by the then CBN governor to recover N1.4 billion in debit from the receivables account through the Consolidated Revenue Fund.
Abdullahi confirmed the email and its accompanying certificate of compliance when shown the documents in court. The prosecution sought to tender them, and Ojo did not object. Justice Anineh admitted the documents as Exhibits AH1 and AH2.
Abdullahi was subsequently discharged after the prosecution indicated it had no further questions for him.
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 said to have caused harm to members of the public in connection with the controversial naira redesign policy.
Justice Anineh adjourned the case until October 7, 2026, for cross-examination and continuation of the trial.
