By David Oluwatosin
A Director in the Federal Ministry of Finance, Ali Mohammed, has told the Federal Capital Territory High Court sitting in Maitama, Abuja, that the ministry was not aware of the withdrawal of N124.86 billion from the Central Bank of Nigeria (CBN).
Mohammed, who testified as the 10th prosecution witness (PW10) in the ongoing trial of former CBN Governor, Godwin Emefiele, made the disclosure on Tuesday while being led in evidence by prosecution counsel, Abbas Mohammed.
The witness told the court that he appeared before Justice Maryanne Anineh after the Ministry of Finance received a letter from an investigation team concerning N154 billion allegedly withdrawn by the CBN.
Explaining his responsibilities, Mohammed said the Department of Home Finance comprises three divisions: State and Public Finance, Trade, and Banking and Other Financial Institutions, all of which are under his supervision.
He said that after receiving the investigator’s letter, he contacted the three divisions to determine whether they were aware of the transaction.
According to him, none of the divisions was privy to the transaction.
Mohammed identified the State and Public Finance Investment Division as the relevant division because it oversees the CBN.
He told the court that he subsequently wrote through the Permanent Secretary of the Ministry of Finance to the Office of the Accountant-General of the Federation (OAGF) to ascertain whether it was aware of the transaction.
The witness explained that the OAGF was the appropriate office to approach because it serves as the custodian of payments for the Federal Government.
Mohammed said the OAGF responded in writing that it was not aware of the transaction and concluded that the money was a direct credit from the CBN.
He said he relied on the response from the Accountant-General before responding 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.
The witness said the documents sent to the Special Investigator included a letter bearing the logo of the Federal Ministry of Finance, which he signed, as well as an attached letter signed by the Accountant-General of the Federation.
Mohammed identified the documents when they were presented to him in court.
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He told the court that the originals had already been forwarded to the Special Investigator and subsequently sought to tender certified true copies.
Defence counsel, Olalekan Ojo, SAN, raised no objection to their admission.
Justice Anineh consequently admitted the documents and marked them as Exhibits AJ, AK and AL.
While examining Exhibit AJ, the prosecution asked Mohammed to explain its purpose.
The witness said the document showed that the withdrawal of N124.86 billion was not known to the Federal Ministry of Finance.
He explained that he relied on the letter forwarded to the ministry by the Accountant-General before signing the document.
On Exhibit AL, Mohammed said it was a confirmation from the Office of the Accountant-General of the Federation that it was not aware of the transaction involving N124.86 billion.
The testimony forms part of the prosecution’s ongoing case in the trial of Emefiele over transactions allegedly carried out during his tenure as CBN governor.
