EFCC Witness Unable To Tie Emefiele To Zenith Bank Accounts In Property Fraud Case

A prosecution witness called by the Economic and Financial Crimes Commission (EFCC) on Friday failed to establish a direct link between former Central Bank of Nigeria (CBN) governor Godwin Emefiele and the Zenith Bank accounts cited in his ongoing property fraud trial.

Emefiele is facing multiple charges, including property fraud, relating to an estate located at Plot 109, Cadastral Zone C09, Lokogoma District, Abuja, covering over 150,000 square meters and comprising 753 housing units.

At the resumed hearing before Justice Yusuf Halilu of the Abuja High Court, the first prosecution witness, Mshelia Arhyel, a compliance officer at Zenith Bank, testified about transactions involving three companies — MG Properties Limited, Ifedigo Integrated Services, and Kelvito Integrated Services. He explained how funds were received and deposited into their accounts, mentioning depositors and transfer recipients such as Chukwuma Opara, Peters Adebayo, and Wilson.

However, under cross-examination by Emefiele’s counsel, Matthew Burkaa (SAN), the witness admitted that he did not know who owned the accounts. He also confirmed that Emefiele’s name did not appear on the account opening documents and that he was not invited by the EFCC to make any statement regarding the accounts before testifying.

Arhyel told the court he signed a certificate of compliance on May 29 but was unaware it would be used as evidence in court.

Following the cross-examination, Justice Halilu adjourned the matter until November 26 for continuation of the trial.

Earlier, Emefiele’s counsel had challenged the court’s jurisdiction, arguing that his client was not directly linked to the charges and urging the court to quash them. The prosecution, led by Rotimi Oyedepo (SAN), opposed the application, insisting that the charges were properly filed and connected to the defendant.

The EFCC alleges that Emefiele and his associate, Eric Ocheme (now at large), unlawfully controlled billions of naira through the Zenith Bank accounts of the listed companies. The funds, including N167 million, N1.23 billion, N900 million, and N600 million in various accounts, are suspected to be proceeds of unlawful activities.