Court Orders Police Commissioner and Jim Obazee to Appear as Witnesses in Emefiele’s $6.23 Million Fraud Case

The Federal Capital Territory High Court in Abuja has summoned a Commissioner of Police, Eloho Okpoziakpo, and former Executive Secretary of the Financial Reporting Council of Nigeria, Jim Obazee, to testify in the ongoing trial of former Central Bank of Nigeria Governor, Godwin Emefiele, over an alleged $6.23 million fraud. Justice Hamza Muazu issued the subpoena on April 27, 2026, ordering both witnesses to appear before the court on Tuesday, April 28, 2026, at 9:00 a.m. and continue attending proceedings until the matter is concluded.

Emefiele is being prosecuted by the Economic and Financial Crimes Commission on an amended 20-count charge bordering on criminal breach of trust, forgery, abuse of office, and conspiracy to obtain money by false pretence. The case centres on allegations that $6.23 million was fraudulently withdrawn from the CBN’s vault in February 2023 under the guise of payments to foreign observers for the 2023 general election. The former CBN governor has pleaded not guilty to all charges.

The subpoena directs both witnesses to tender newspaper publications relating to the controversial naira redesign policy. The court noted that Obazee and Okpoziakpo participated in investigations leading to the charges against Emefiele and are expected to provide clarification on issues surrounding the policy. Justice Muazu stated in the subpoena that the defendant “has been charged by the Federal Republic of Nigeria on offences emanating from your investigation”.

The summons comes after the prosecution told the court on Monday that it was uncertain about producing its remaining witnesses. Rotimi Oyedepo, Director of Public Prosecutions of the Federation and prosecuting counsel, informed Justice Muazu that the prosecution had yet to obtain the necessary subpoenas and that the witnesses were outside the court’s jurisdiction in Benin City and Lagos. In response, Emefiele’s lawyer, Matthew Burkaa, a Senior Advocate of Nigeria, applied for the foreclosure of the prosecution’s case if the witnesses failed to appear. “If the witnesses do not come tomorrow, we will apply that they should be foreclosed. Justice is for both the prosecution and the defendant. This is an antic of the prosecution to put maximum hardship on the defendant,” Burkaa argued.

Oyedepo opposed the application, stating, “It is another way they desire to prevent the prosecution from giving evidence”. Justice Muazu asked both parties to reserve their arguments for final written addresses and directed the prosecution to approach the court registrar to sign the subpoena immediately, after which he adjourned the case until Tuesday for continuation of trial.

Earlier on Monday, the prosecution presented its 13th witness, Chinedu Eneanya, an Assistant Commander of the EFCC, who testified that a special investigative team was set up to probe the allegations against Emefiele. Eneanya told the court that the $6.23 million was “removed from the coffers of the CBN for purported funding of the foreign election observers of the 2023 election”. He further revealed that forensic analysis showed the signatures of former President Muhammadu Buhari and former Secretary to the Government of the Federation, Boss Mustapha, were forged on documents used to facilitate the withdrawal. Mustapha, who previously testified as a prosecution witness, denied any knowledge of the transaction.

Under cross-examination by Burkaa, Eneanya admitted that no forensic test was conducted on Emefiele’s signature, despite the defendant’s claim that it was also forged. He also confirmed that five CBN officials who signed internal memos authorising the transaction were not prosecuted but were merely suspended by the bank. When asked if any evidence showed Emefiele personally received the money, the witness said a lawyer, Ifeanyi Omeke, claimed to have received money on behalf of the defendant, but Emefiele was never interviewed to verify the claim.

The trial resumes on Tuesday with the anticipated testimony of Obazee and Okpoziakpo, whose appearances are expected to provide crucial evidence in the high-profile fraud case.