Court adjourns Emefiele’s procurement fraud trial to October

Justice Hamza Muazu of the Federal Capital Territory (FCT) High Court has adjourned the trial of the former Governor of the Central Bank of Nigeria (CBN) to October 21.

Justice Muazu fixed the date on Tuesday after the end of cross-examination of the prosecution’s ninth witness, Mrs. Abibia Ockiya-Ogeleye.

The witness Ockiya-Ogeleye told the court that she had rendered some services to Architekon for quite some time in the past.

She claimed that she had in times past “filed annual reports, changed the director and shareholders of the company.”

Adding that: “Sometime in 2021, one Madam Esther called me to effect a change in the company by adding her as a director of the company.”

The witness told the court that prior to 2021, Architekon had only two directors.

She tendered a CAC document, which contained the names of Margaret Omoyile, Mc Combo Omoyile, and Esther Oyeladun Adeoun as shareholders; another document containing the record of transfer from Mc Combo to Margaret, dated March 4, 2021; as well as another document containing the resolution of the company on Esther’s admittance as a director of Architekon.

Besides, the witness presented to the court a copy of the email wherein she claimed Esther sent her requesting that she (Esther) be added as a director to the company.

However, during cross-examination by Burkaa, the witness did not see both Margaret and Mc Combo execute any of the documents she tendered before the court.

Also, when confronted with her statement wherein she claimed that a resolution was passed by Mc Combo and Margaret because their signatures were on the documents, the witness said, “I can’t tell the court whether they were at the meeting and signed the resolution.”

“Does that apply to documents sent to you on every Architekon document?” The witness replied in the affirmative.

“Are you aware that Margaret was not in the country?” The witness replied, “Yes.”

Burkaa further confronted the witness with her statement wherein she alleged that Esther had told her that Margaret was not in the country.

“Was Margaret copied in that email?”

The witness said the only name on the mail is one Chioma.

“Do you know where Margaret is?”

The witness replied: “No, I don’t even know her.”

She admitted that all the instructions she took were from Esther.

Earlier, a Compliance Officer with Zenith Bank Plc, Mr. Umar Abba Tilda, tendered three bank documents before the court which included a copy of Emefiele’s bank statement.

Tilda, citing a portion in Emefiele’s bank statement, informed the court that there was a N4 million transfer from Emefiele’s account with the bank to Architekon on January 13, 2015.

However, when asked by Emefiele’s lawyer if he knew what the transfer was meant for, he said he did not know.

Also, when asked if he knew that the accounts he listed as belonging to Emefiele were salary accounts, investments, savings, and dividends, he said, “I wouldn’t know.”

He also confirmed that some of the accounts contained Capital Interest Credit.

He also confirmed that a transaction of N15 million debit, dated April 13, 2015, in account number 2020000064 was part of litigation.

Meanwhile, the court has adjourned till October 21 for continuation of the trial.

The court, however, will on July 8 hear an application by Emefiele seeking the release of his international passports to enable him to travel overseas for medical care.