Jim Obazee, President Bola Tinubu’s Special Investigator on the Central Bank of Nigeria (CBN), told an Abuja High Court that the late former President Muhammadu Buhari ought to have been put on trial over the alleged $6.2 million CBN fraud.
Obazee made the statement on Friday while testifying as a prosecution witness for the Economic and Financial Crimes Commission (EFCC) in the ongoing trial of former CBN Governor Godwin Emefiele.
He also argued that former Secretary to the Government of the Federation (SGF), Boss Mustapha, should be prosecuted over the controversial transaction.
Emefiele is standing trial before Justice Hamza Muazu on a 20-count charge involving alleged conspiracy, abuse of office, and fraud.
During his testimony, led by the Director of Public Prosecutions of the Federation, Rotimi Oyedepo (SAN), Obazee was presented with several documents. Among them were a letter said to have been signed by Buhari approving the release of the $6.2 million and another allegedly issued from the Office of the SGF directing the CBN to pay the funds to Jibril Abubakar for logistics related to foreign election observers.
Obazee, however, pointed to later statements by Mustapha in which the former SGF denied any knowledge of the transaction and claimed that the documents, including the one attributed to Buhari, were forged.
According to the investigator, responsibility for the alleged fraud should not rest solely on Emefiele. He insisted that everyone connected to the transaction should face trial.
He maintained that although Buhari is now deceased, the case should have been pursued against him. He added that Mustapha, Jibril Abubakar, CBN official Bashirudeen Maishanu, and other officials linked to the payment should also be prosecuted alongside Emefiele.
Obazee further accused the Abuja branch of the CBN of failing to carry out proper due diligence before releasing the funds.
He disclosed that Maishanu returned $856,500 to his investigative panel during the course of the investigation.
Under cross-examination by Emefiele’s lawyer, Matthew Burkaa (SAN), Obazee admitted that investigators did not recover any money from the former CBN governor. He also acknowledged that there was no evidence showing that any part of the alleged proceeds was paid into Emefiele’s personal account.
Despite this, Obazee argued that Emefiele should have been aware of the transaction if the bank’s internal control systems, including its CCTV network and Bank Verification Number (BVN) records, had been effectively used.
The witness also revealed that President Tinubu summoned him on December 19, 2023, and instructed him, in the presence of the Attorney General of the Federation and the EFCC Chairman, to investigate the alleged $6.2 million fraud and prepare charges where necessary.
When Emefiele’s lawyer pointed out that the charges had already been filed before that date, Obazee said he was not a lawyer and could not explain the apparent inconsistency.
Following the proceedings, Justice Muazu adjourned the matter until October 20 for the continuation of the trial.
