The ongoing trial of former Central Bank of Nigeria (CBN) Governor, Godwin Emefiele, progressed on Thursday before Justice Hamza Muazu of the Federal Capital Territory High Court in Abuja as a forensic analyst confirmed that the documents used to request the payment of $6.2million for foreign election observers were forged.
The witness, Bamaiyi Meriga, called by the Economic and Financial Crimes Commission (EFCC), informed the court that following forensic analysis of the disputed documents, he discovered that there was clear evidence of forgery of signature and that the seal of execution was different from the original.
The forensic analyst confirmed that the signatures were not those of former President Muhammadu Buhari and ex-Secretary General of the Federation (SGF), Boss Mustapha.
The trial judge, Justice Muazu, admitted the two documents on the ‘Presidential Directive on Foreign Observer Election’ as evidence in the trial.
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Under cross-examination by counsel for Emefiele, the witness said he was not a staff member of the EFCC and was not being paid by the anti-graft agency but his salary was domiciled with the Nigeria Immigration Service.
Counsel for Emefiele, Matthew Burkaa, expressed displeasure over the conduct of the witness, saying that the witness misled the court by evading questions.
The trial has been adjourned till March 11 for continuation.
Emefiele is standing trial before Justice Muazu on 20-count amended charges bordering on corrupt advantages, conspiracy, criminal breach of trust, forgery, and obtaining by false pretences to the tune of $6,230,000.
