By Opeyemi Adelakun
A Federal Ministry of Finance director has testified that the ministry and the Office of the Accountant-General of the Federation had no knowledge of a N124.86 billion withdrawal from the Central Bank of Nigeria.
The official, Ali Mohammed, appeared before the Federal Capital Territory High Court in Maitama on Tuesday as the 10th prosecution witness in the trial of Godwin Emefiele, former CBN governor.
Mohammed told the court that the transaction appeared in the ministry’s records as a direct debit by the apex bank.
He said the ministry only became aware of the transaction after receiving a letter from investigators concerning N154 billion reportedly withdrawn by the CBN.
The witness said he contacted three divisions under his supervision, including the division responsible for overseeing the CBN, but none could confirm knowledge of the transaction.
He subsequently wrote to the OAGF through the permanent secretary to establish whether the office had authorised or was aware of the withdrawal.
Mohammed said the OAGF replied that it was not aware of the transaction.
He said the response formed the basis of his subsequent communication with the special investigator.
The prosecution tendered correspondence exchanged between the Finance Ministry and the OAGF. The documents were admitted in evidence after defence counsel Olalekan Ojo indicated that he had no objection.
While explaining one of the documents, Mohammed said it showed that the N124.86 billion withdrawal was not known to the Finance Ministry.
He told the court that the description “direct debit” meant the funds were withdrawn by the CBN without recourse to any government office.
“Direct debit means it was withdrawn from the Central Bank of Nigeria without recourse of any office in Nigeria. That is what it means,” he said.
Mohammed further testified that the OAGF would ordinarily receive a directive before a withdrawal was made, adding that the document before the court did not indicate that the Finance Ministry had issued such a directive.
He specifically said there was no indication that the ministry had directed the OAGF to withdraw the money from the Consolidated Revenue Fund.
Earlier in the proceedings, Hamisu Abdullahi, CBN Director of Banking Services and the ninth prosecution witness, continued his evidence.
He was shown an email he had referred to during his cross-examination on May 4, 2026.
Abdullahi said the email originated from the CBN’s computer system and had been certified as a true copy with an accompanying certificate of compliance.
He said the email contained a directive from the then CBN governor to recover N1.4 billion debited from a receivables account from the Consolidated Revenue Fund.
The prosecution tendered the email and its certificate, while the defence raised no objection to their admission.
Justice Maryanne Anineh admitted the documents as Exhibits AH1 and AH2.
Abdullahi was thereafter discharged.
The court adjourned the case until Wednesday for further cross-examination and continuation of the trial.
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