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A Special Investigator engaged by President Bola Tinubu, Jim Obaze, has suggested prosecuting the late President Muhammadu Buhari and ex-Secretary to the Government of the Federation (SGF), Boss Mustapha, over their alleged involvement in the unlawful withdrawal of $6.2 million from the Central Bank of Nigeria.
Obaze, who spoke yesterday while testifying in the ongoing trial of the former governor of the CBN, Godwin Emefiele, over alleged fraud and other charges, said Buhari and Mustapha ought to be prosecuted along with the ex-apex bank boss.
Emefiele is being prosecuted before the High Court of the Federal Capital Territory (FCT) in Maitama by the Economic and Financial Crimes Commission (EFCC) on 20 counts of alleged conspiracy, abuse of office, and fraud.
Obaze said: “For actions and inactions, Buhari ought to be charged along with Emefiele in this $6.2m fraud, even if posthumously, since national honours are given posthumously.
“As for Boss Mustapha, as far as I am concerned, he denied to me that he signed the documents from his office, which initiated the request for the $6.2m and led to the release of the amount to a person who claimed to be a staff member of his office.
“Whatever you are doing to Emefiele by way of prosecution ought to have been done to Buhari, Mustapha, Maishanu and former board members of the CBN under Emefiele.
“I just hope that all of them would be lined up in this dock with Emefiele, and this must include Maishanu, who returned to me $856,500,” he said.
Led by the prosecuting lawyer, Rotimi Oyedepo (SAN), Obaze flipped through documents relating to the withdrawn money, which were shown to him by Oyedepo, and dismissed the presidency’s and Mustapha’s denial of their involvement in the alleged fraud.
Obaze also suggested that the manager of the Abuja branch of the CBN was at fault, on the grounds that the money was released by the branch without carrying out due diligence.
The witness urged the court to order the arrest and prosecution of Jibril Abubakar, who collected the fund on the purported authority of the SGF office, and Bashirudeen Maishanu, a current staff member of the CBN, who claimed to be one of those who stole the money and refunded $856,500 to the special investigation panel, which has since been deposited with the CBN.
Obaze stated that under the CBN Act, the N2.8 billion, equivalent to $6.2 million, ought to have been deposited before the $6.2 million could be officially released.
While being cross-examined by defence lawyer Matthew Burkaa (SAN), Obaze said he did not recover any money from the former CBN governor and that there was no evidence of any transfer of money to his account.
The witness added that, by presumption, Emefiele was supposed to have knowledge of the alleged fraud if the CCTV and BVN portal in the Abuja branch office of the CBN had been put to use before the money was released.
According to him, the disappearance of the money ought to have been detected in the CBN’s annual financial statement if all those in charge had been diligent.
Obaze said he was invited by President Tinubu on December 19, 2023, and that, in the presence of the Attorney-General of the Federation and the Chairman of the EFCC, he was asked to prepare charges against the defendant in the alleged $6.2m fraud.
When told by Burkaa that the charge was prepared on August 14, 2023, the witness said he was not a lawyer and could not comment further on the issue.
Justice Hamza Muazu has adjourned the case till October 20 to continue the trial.
