A dispatch rider, Monday Osazuwa, surprised the Special Offences Court in Lagos yesterday when he revealed how the embattled former Central Bank of Nigeria Governor, Godwin Emefiele, asked him on several occasions to collect $3 million dollars in tranches.
Osazuwa, who was led in evidence in chief by the Economic and Financial Crimes Commission’s lawyer, Rotimi Oyedepo (SAN), told the Court that he had worked as a dispatch rider for Zenith Bank since 2001 until joining the CBN as a contract staff member in 2014.
The witness, who testified before Justice Raman Oshodi, stated that he was thereafter appointed as a senior supervisor (full-time) in responsibility of recording and submitting paperwork while working in the CBN Governor’s office in Lagos.
He stated that when he collected money for his boss (Emefiele), he would take it to his residence at Iru Close, Ikoyi, Lagos.
“The highest amount I collected was $1m, all in cash. Some weeks later, the businessman also called me, and I collected $850,000, $750,000, and $400,000 in cash in different tranches.
“I have never been rewarded, paid, or given anything. I was doing it out of faithfulness, and he knows it, but he never once said, ‘Take this,” the witness said.
Recall that President Bola Ahmed Tinubu suspended Emefiele in June of last year and on Monday, April 8, 2024, the EFCC arraigned him on 23 counts of abuse of power.
Emefiele is being tried for suspected abuse of office and fraud totaling $4.5 billion and N2.8 billion.
Meanwhile, Justice Oshodi granted him bail in the amount of N50 million.
