A Director in the Federal Ministry of Finance, Ali Mohammed, has told an Abuja High Court that the Ministry was not aware of the withdrawal of N124.86 billion from the Central Bank of Nigeria.
Mohammed made the disclosure on Tuesday, October 6, 2026, while testifying as the tenth prosecution witness, PW10, in the ongoing trial of former CBN Governor, Godwin Emefiele.
The witness gave evidence before the Federal Capital Territory High Court sitting in Maitama, Abuja, while being led in evidence by prosecution counsel, Abbas Mohammed.
Mohammed told the court that he appeared as a witness after the Ministry received a letter from an investigation team concerning about N154 billion reportedly withdrawn by the CBN.
He explained that, as Director of the Department of Home Finance, he oversees three divisions covering State and Public Finance, Trade, and Banking and Other Financial Institutions.
According to the witness, after receiving the investigator’s letter, he contacted the three divisions under his supervision to determine whether any of them had knowledge of the transaction.
He told the court that none of the divisions was aware of the transaction.
Mediaplusng.com reports that Mohammed identified the State and Public Finance Investment Division as the relevant unit because of its responsibilities relating to the Central Bank of Nigeria.
The witness further explained that he could not independently confirm whether the Federal Government was aware of the transaction because civil servants in the Ministry of Finance do not make direct payments to individuals or organisations.
He said he therefore wrote through the Permanent Secretary of the Ministry of Finance to the Office of the Accountant-General of the Federation, which he described as the appropriate office to confirm government payments.
Mohammed said the Accountant-General’s Office subsequently responded in writing, stating that it was not aware of the transaction.
According to his testimony, the response indicated that the money represented a direct credit from the Central Bank of Nigeria.
The witness told the court that he relied on the response from the Accountant-General before preparing a memorandum and responding to the Special Investigator.
He explained that the Ministry subsequently forwarded relevant documents to the investigator, including a letter bearing the Ministry’s logo and signed by him, together with a letter signed by the Accountant-General of the Federation.
When the documents were presented in court, Mohammed identified them as the documents exchanged between his office and the Accountant-General’s Office.
The prosecution then sought to tender the documents as evidence.
Defence counsel, Olalekan Ojo, SAN, told the court that he had no objection to their admission.
Justice Maryanne Anineh consequently admitted the documents and marked them as Exhibits AJ, AK and AL.
During further examination, the prosecution asked Mohammed to explain the significance of Exhibit AJ.
The witness said the document indicated that the Federal Ministry of Finance was not aware of the withdrawal involving N124.86 billion.
He told the court that his confirmation was based on the information contained in the communication received from the Accountant-General’s Office.
Mohammed also explained that Exhibit AL represented confirmation from the Office of the Accountant-General of the Federation that it was not aware of the transaction involving the N124.86 billion.
The testimony forms part of the ongoing prosecution of former CBN Governor Godwin Emefiele, with the court continuing to examine evidence surrounding financial transactions attributed to the apex bank during his tenure.
The proceedings are continuing, as the prosecution presents witnesses and documents in support of its case, while the defence continues to challenge the allegations against the former CBN governor.
