Yesterday in a riveting court session at the Special Offences Court in Lagos, Monday Osazuwa, a dispatch rider, recounted how he received instructions from the former Central Bank of Nigeria (CBN) Governor, Godwin Emefiele, to collect substantial sums of cash totaling $3 million.
Led by the counsel for the Economic and Financial Crimes Commission (EFCC), Rotimi Oyedepo (SAN), Osazuwa shared his testimony detailing his tenure as a dispatch rider at Zenith Bank, where Emefiele served as the Managing Director before his stint at the CBN.
Osazuwa, who transitioned from Zenith Bank to the CBN as a contract staff member in 2014, emphasized his familiarity with Emefiele, his former boss at Zenith Bank, who later became his superior at the CBN.
During his time at the CBN Governor's office in Lagos, Osazuwa assumed the role of a senior supervisor, responsible for documenting and organizing official paperwork. It was during this tenure that he allegedly received instructions from Emefiele to collect cash amounts on various occasions.
Detailing one such instance in 2020, Osazuwa recalled receiving a call from Emefiele, who directed him to retrieve an envelope containing money from a designated individual. Following Emefiele's instructions, Osazuwa collected the envelope and delivered it to his boss upon verification of its contents.
Osazuwa further revealed that Emefiele preferred to collect cash personally when in Lagos but designated Osazuwa to hand over the money to Henry Omoile, the second defendant, in his absence.
The testimony presented by Osazuwa sheds light on the alleged involvement of high-ranking officials in illicit financial transactions, prompting further scrutiny into the activities of Emefiele during his tenure as CBN Governor.
As the trial progresses, revelations from witnesses like Osazuwa serve to uncover the intricacies of the case and uphold the principles of transparency and accountability within Nigeria's financial institutions.
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