adminA Director in the Federal Ministry of Finance, Ali Mohammed, has told the Federal Capital Territory High Court in Maitama, Abuja, that the ministry was unaware of the withdrawal of N124.86 billion from the Central Bank of Nigeria (CBN).
Mohammed made the disclosure on Tuesday while testifying as the 10th prosecution witness (PW10) in the ongoing trial of former CBN Governor, Godwin Emefiele.
Led in evidence by prosecution counsel, Abbas Mohammed, the witness said he appeared before the court after the Ministry of Finance received a letter from an investigation team concerning the alleged withdrawal of N154 billion by the CBN.
Explaining his responsibilities, Mohammed said he oversees the Department of Home Finance, which comprises three divisions: State and Public Finance, Trade, and Banking and Other Financial Institutions.
He said after receiving the investigators’ letter, he contacted the three divisions under his supervision to determine whether any of them was aware of the transaction.
According to him, none of the divisions had any knowledge of the withdrawal.
Mohammed identified the State and Public Finance Investment Division as the relevant division because of its oversight responsibility over the CBN.
He further 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 the office had any knowledge of the transaction.
The witness explained that the inquiry was necessary because the Minister of Finance does not make direct payments to individuals or organisations, while the OAGF is responsible for making payments on behalf of the Federal Government.
Mohammed said the OAGF responded in writing that it was unaware of the transaction and indicated that the money represented a direct credit from the CBN.
He said he relied on the response from the Accountant-General before replying 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 told the court.
The witness said the documents forwarded 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.
The prosecution subsequently showed the documents to Mohammed, who identified them in court and confirmed their contents.
When asked about the originals, Mohammed explained that they had already been forwarded to the Special Investigator. He therefore sought to tender certified true copies of the documents.
Defence counsel, Olalekan Ojo, SAN, said he had no objection to their admission.
Justice Maryanne Anineh subsequently admitted the documents in evidence and marked them as Exhibits AJ, AK and AL.
During further examination, prosecution counsel asked Mohammed to explain the purpose of Exhibit AJ.
The witness said the document demonstrated that the Federal Ministry of Finance was unaware of the withdrawal of N124.86 billion.
He added that he relied on the letter from the Accountant-General before signing the document.
Explaining Exhibit AL, Mohammed said it was a confirmation from the Office of the Accountant-General of the Federation that it was also unaware of the transaction involving the N124.86 billion.
The testimony forms part of the prosecution’s ongoing efforts to establish the circumstances surrounding the alleged withdrawal of funds from the CBN during Emefiele’s tenure as governor.
