Monday Osazuwa, a dispatch rider, stunned the Special Offenses Court in Lagos on Friday by revealing how the troubled former governor of the Central Bank of Nigeria, Godwin Emefiele, gave him instructions on several occasions to collect $3 million in cash in installments.
Osazuwa told the court that he had worked as a dispatch rider for Zenith Bank since 2001 until joining the CBN as a contract employee in 2014. Rotimi Oyedepo (SAN), the attorney for the Economic and Financial Crimes Commission, led Osazuwa throughout his main evidence presentation.
The witness, who appeared before Justice Raman Oshodi, claimed that after working for the CBN Governor's office in Lagos, he was subsequently hired as a senior supervisor (full-time) and given the responsibility of document recording and filing.
He said he would deliver the money he gathered for Emefiele to his home at Iru Close in Ikoyi, Lagos.
"I have collected up to $1 million in cash at the highest level. A few weeks later, I received a call from the businessman as well, and I was paid $850,000, $750,000, and $400,000 in cash in various installments.
"I've never received money, gifts, or rewards. The witness stated, "I was acting in loyalty, and he knows it, but he never once said, 'Take this.'"
Recall that Emefiele was charged with 23 counts related to possible abuse of power by the EFCC on Monday, April 8.
He is on trial for alleged fraud of N2.8 billion and $4.5 billion, as well as abuse of office.
In the interim, Justice Oshodi had approved N50 million bail for Emefiele.
"I have collected up to $1 million in cash at the highest level. A few weeks later, I received a call from the businessman as well, and I was paid $850,000, $750,000, and $400,000 in cash in various installments.
"I've never received money, gifts, or rewards. The witness stated, "I was acting in loyalty, and he knows it, but he never once said, 'Take this.'"
Recall that Emefiele was charged with 23 counts related to possible abuse of power by the EFCC on Monday, April 8.
He is on trial for alleged fraud of N2.8 billion and $4.5 billion, as well as abuse of office.
In the interim, Justice Oshodi had approved N50 million bail for Emefiele.
In June of last year, President Bola Ahmed Tinubu suspended Emefiele.
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