An investigator from the Independent Corrupt Practices and Other Related Offences Commission (ICPC), Agboro Omowera told the Federal Capital Territory High Court on Monday that the embattled former Central Bank of Nigeria (CBN) governor, Godwin Emefiele and nine other officials at the apex bank were involved in approving multi-billion contracts to his wife, Margaret, brother-in-law and staff of the apex bank, Sa`adatu Ramallan Yaro.
According to the investigator, nine CBN staff minuted on the documents while Emefiele approved them.
Omowera told Justice Hamza Muazu that Sa`adatu Ramallan Yaro, a director at April 1616 Investment Ltd, was awarded several contracts by the CBN under the purview of Emefiele, for the supply of over 45 Toyota Hilux Vehicles ranging from N854, 700,000, to N99,900,000.
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He also testified that Emefiele’s wife, Margaret, and his brother-in-law were directors and major shareholders at Architecom Nigeria Ltd, a company that was contracted by the apex bank to renovate the CBN governor’s residence in Ikoyi, Lagos state.
What transpired in court
Led in evidence by counsel for the Economic and Financial Crimes Commission (EFCC), Rotimi Oyedepo SAN, the witness explained that after Emefiele was appointed CBN governor in 2014, the company where his wife owned majority shares started enjoying the patronage of the CBN.
He added that his investigative team comprising of different agencies including the Department of State Services (DSS), also found out that the husband of Yaro, had other companies but they were not patronised by CBN except the one in which the wife was a director.
The witness submitted that during its investigation, the embattled governor gave final approval, awarding contracts to the two companies for the supply of vehicles, renovation of the CBN governor’s residence, and provision of power lines.
Omowera said, “In the second company, April 1616 Investment Limited, we also discovered that one of the directors of that company by name, Sahadatu Ramalan Yaro, was a director of April 1616 investment. We discovered that the company was incorporated a few days after her employment with the CBN and she was posted to the CBN Lagos office”.
“In 2018, the company started to enjoy the patronage of the CBN in the procurement of particular vehicles, Toyota branded motors. During the period that the defendant was, this company was awarded about 45 different contracts”.
“My lord, we were curious as investigators, how it was possible for a company that has no track record to continually win bids against Toyota-accredited bids. We tried to confirm whether this company was accredited by Toyota and to our surprise, it was not among the accredited bidders.”
Under cross-examination by Matthew Burkaa, Emefiele’s lawyer, the witness was asked, “Did he(Emefiele) confer corrupt advantage on himself?” The witness replied, “No. Why I said no is because we limited our investigation to his relatives and associates and not him.”
He was asked if he interviewed some people at CBN to determine whether the contracts were implemented. The witness said he interviewed some people but added he could not specifically verify whether the execution of the contracts is contained in the team’s investigative report.
He also said he did not visit the CBN governor’s residence in Lagos during his investigation, to determine if the contract awarded to Architecom Nigeria Ltd was executed.
The investigator agreed that it was not wrong to pay contractors if they had done what they were supposed to do. He admitted that “Emefiele is not a shareholder, director or signatory to the bank accounts belonging to April 1616 or Architecom.”
The witness also admitted that it was the procurement department of the CBN that handled the contracts awarded to April 1616 and Architecom Nigeria Ltd.
He also confirmed that it is the duty of the tenders committee in CBN, of which Emefiele is not a member, to vet, review, and recommend contracts at the apex bank including the two companies in dispute.
The witness also admitted the defence team was right to say he does not know if the laid down procedures at the CBN were followed in awarding the contracts.
But the witness added, “About 10 persons acted on the documents awarding contracts. “There are ten minutes and one approval, so one person takes the responsibility. “He(Emefiele) is the head of the CBN, and the buck stops at his table.”
The witness also confirmed Emefiele told him that his wife was part of Architecom Nigeria Ltd but added he could not remember if he said his wife was not a director in the company.
Afterwards, Justice Muazu fixed April 25 for the continuation of the trial.
Emefiele was arraigned on a 20-count charge bordering on alleged corrupt practices and forgery instituted by EFCC. The former governor had pleaded not guilty to the charges and trial commenced.
On February 13, 2024, a former Secretary to the Government of the Federation, Boss Mustapha, told the court that his principal, Buhari, did not approve $6.2 million as payment for election observers.
At previous proceedings, a document analyst from the EFCC further confirmed the forgery of Buhari, Mustapha’s signatures.
Nairametrics
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