A former Secretary of the Government of the Federation, Mr Boss
Mustapha, has said $6.2m was released from the Central Bank of Nigeria
in February 2023, using a forged document.
Mustapha who appeared as the fourth prosecution witness in the ongoing
fraud trial of the immediate-past CBN Governor, Godwin Emefiele,
before the Federal Capital Territory High Court in Maitama, Abuja,
said the document did not come from Buhari or his office.
The Economic and Financial Crimes Commission, EFCC, had alleged that
on February 8, 2023, Emefiele connived with one Odoh Ocheme, who is
now at large, to obtain $6.2m from the CBN, claiming that it was
requested by the SGF “vide a letter dated 26th January 2023 with Ref
No. SGF.43/L.01/.
Also, the EFCC alleged that Emefiele, in January 2023, forged a
document titled: “RE: PRESIDENTIAL DIRECTIVE ON FOREIGN ELECTION
OBSERVER MISSIONS,” dated 26 January 2023 with Ref No.
SGF.43/L.01/201.
In his evidence, Mustapha denied receiving any amount from the said money.
Mustapha said, “All through my service year as the SGF, I never came
across these documents it was claimed that Buhari signed. From the
face value of this document, having served for five years and seven
months as SGF, this document did not emanate from the president for
the following reasons.
“A correspondence that has the seal of the Nigerian president does not
carry a reference number. The seal is the authority.
“Secondly, I have looked at it and read that FEC decisions are not
transmitted by letters. They are transmitted through extracts after
conclusions are adopted.
“Thirdly, I am the custodian of FEC, the president will not refer
executives’ conclusions to me.
“Also, in all the five years and seven months, I have never heard of
the terms special appropriation provision referred to. The terms known
to me, my lord, are appropriation as provided by the appropriation act
normally passed by the national assembly and when the government file
drafts it brings supplementary appropriation.
“In all the correspondence I have received from Buhari, it has never
had ‘please accept the assurance of my highest regard’. I am his
subordinate, my correspondences do not carry that.
And lastly, looking at the signature, it is a failed attempt at
reproducing Buhari’s signature. I will leave that to the experts”, he
said.
