A former Governor of the Central Bank of Nigeria (CBN), Godwin Emefiele, has urged an Abuja High Court to foreclose the prosecution in his ongoing trial if the Economic and Financial Crimes Commission (EFCC) fails to produce its witnesses.

Emefiele’s counsel, Matthew Burkaa, SAN, made the application after the prosecution counsel, Rotimi Oyedepo, SAN, informed the court that he was uncertain about producing two witnesses, citing delays in obtaining subpoenas and the fact that the witnesses reside outside the court’s jurisdiction.

Emefiele is charged with criminal breach of trust, forgery, abuse of office, conspiracy to obtain by false pretence, and obtaining money by false pretence while serving as CBN governor. The EFCC alleges that he obtained $6.3 billion by false pretence, purportedly meant for international election observers for the 2023 general election. He has pleaded not guilty to the charges.

At the resumed hearing on Monday, Chinedu Eneanya, an Assistant Commander II with the EFCC, testified as the 13th prosecution witness. He told the court that his team was assigned to investigate the matter and that findings indicated the funds were withdrawn from the CBN for the alleged purpose of funding foreign election observers.

Eneanya stated that individuals connected to the movement of the funds were interviewed and that documents were recovered from the CBN to support the release of the funds.

He further testified that investigations revealed that the signatures of the late former President, Muhammadu Buhari, and the former Secretary to the Government of the Federation, Boss Mustapha, were forged, adding that forensic examinations were conducted on the signatures.

During cross-examination, Eneanya acknowledged that no forensic examination was carried out on Emefiele’s signature, despite claims by the defendant that it had been forged.

He also stated that although five CBN officials signed the internal memo authorising the release of the funds, none is currently standing trial, though they were suspended by the bank. He added that he was not the officer who recorded Emefiele’s statements.

Burkaa criticised the credibility of the witness, arguing that his testimony should be treated with caution. He further urged the court to foreclose the prosecution if the remaining witnesses fail to appear, contending that repeated delays were prejudicial to the defendant.

In response, Oyedepo urged the court to reject the application, maintaining that the prosecution was not seeking to obstruct proceedings but to ensure that all relevant evidence is presented.

Presiding judge, Justice Hamza Muazu, advised both parties to reserve their arguments for final addresses and directed the prosecution to liaise with the court registrar to secure the necessary subpoenas. The case was adjourned until Tuesday for continuation of trial proceedings.