- I Deposited Billions In Cash For Emefiele – Witness Reveals
- Former banker said transactions followed instructions from Emefiele’s former aide.
- Court adjourned the alleged ₦7.8 billion fraud trial until November.
A prosecution witness in the alleged ₦7.8 billion fraud trial of former Central Bank of Nigeria (CBN) Governor, Godwin Emefiele, has told the Federal Capital Territory High Court that he deposited billions of naira in cash allegedly on behalf of the former apex bank chief.
The witness, Richard Agulu, a former employee of Zenith Bank, testified on Tuesday before Justice Yusuf Halilu during cross examination by Emefiele’s counsel, Matthew Burkaa.
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EKO HOT BLOG reports that Agulu, who is the third prosecution witness in the case, told the court that the cash was delivered to him by Emefiele’s former personal assistant, Eric Ocheme.
According to him, the funds were either deposited into the accounts of Ifeabigo Integrated Services and Kelvito Integrated Services or kept in the bank’s vault, depending on instructions allegedly relayed through Ocheme.
The Economic and Financial Crimes Commission (EFCC) is prosecuting Emefiele on an eight count charge bordering on alleged criminal breach of trust, conspiracy, forgery and unlawful possession of properties suspected to be proceeds of crime.
Emefiele has pleaded not guilty to all the charges.
Agulu told the court that during his 17 years in the banking sector, he received cash from Ocheme and processed the transactions based on instructions he alleged originated from Emefiele.
He, however, stated that withdrawals from the accounts of Ifeabigo Integrated Services and Kelvito Integrated Services were authorised by the official signatories to the accounts.
The witness maintained that he complied with standard banking procedures while handling the transactions.
“For every transaction, I followed normal banking transaction procedures. I followed the steps for cash deposition but there are different scenarios for different transactions,” Agulu said.
He further explained that some customers were allowed to deposit large sums of cash under waivers granted by senior bank officials.
“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,” he told the court.
When asked to identify the senior officials who allegedly granted the verbal approval, Agulu declined.
“I cannot mention names. I don’t want to put somebody in trouble,” the witness said.
Agulu also told the court that he supervised the transfer of ₦1.6 billion to MG Properties Limited.
Ocheme, who was mentioned in the charge, is reportedly at large.
Following the witness’s testimony, Justice Halilu adjourned the case until November 3, 4 and 5, 2026, for the continuation of the trial.
