Documents have shown how the $6,230,000 cash allegedly stolen from the Central Bank of Nigeria (CBN), on February 8, 2023, was shared.
President Bola Tinubu had set up a special investigative team, led by Jim Obaze, to probe the tenure of Godwin Emefiele, former CBN governor.
The team had claimed that $6.2 million was removed from the apex bank’s vault under the guise of paying election observers.
Emefiele is standing trial on a 20-count amended criminal charge preferred against him by the Economic and Financial Crimes Commission (EFCC).
The amended charges border on alleged criminal breach of trust, forgery, conspiracy to commit forgery, procurement fraud and conspiracy to commit a felony.
According to the amended charge marked CR/577/2023, Emefiele, on February 8, 2023, connived with Odoh Ocheme, who is now on the run, to obtain $6.2 million from the CBN, claiming that the SGF requested it “vide a letter dated 26th January 2023 with Ref No. SGF.43/L.01/201″.
In the court documents, investigators characterised the crime as an insider job primarily carried out by CBN staff members with the cooperation of two outsiders known as Adamu Abubakar and Imam Abubakar.
Investigators claimed that Odoh Eric Ocheme, Emefiele’s personal assistant, received $3,730,000 of the funds, with three other people splitting the remaining $2,500,000.
Ocheme was said to have justified his lion’s share by claiming he had to pay other interests he had within the apex bank.
Some of the beneficiaries were said to have invested their shares of the loot, estimated at N1.4 billion, in real estate, part of which has now been recovered.
Some of the details of the investigation are contained in an affidavit filed alongside an extradition charge pending against Adamu Abubakar, Imam Abubakar and Odoh Eric Ocheme before the Abuja federal high court.
