A forensic analyst confirmed on Thursday the presence of forgery in documents used to justify the disbursement of $6.2 million for foreign election observers during the trial of former Central Bank of Nigeria Governor Godwin Emefiele.
The witness, Bamaiyi Meriga, told Justice Hamza Muazu of the Federal Capital Territory High Court in Abuja that his analysis revealed clear evidence of forgery in the signatures and seals on the documents, that the seals of execution were different from the original.
He confirmed that the signatures did not belong to former President Muhammadu Buhari or ex-Secretary General of the Federation (SGF) Boss Mustapha.
The two disputed documents, “Presidential Directive on Foreign Observer Election,” were admitted as evidence by the judge.
During cross-examination, Emefiele’s lawyer, Matthew Burkaa, questioned the witness’s impartiality.
Burkaa accused Meriga of misleading the court by evading questions. The claim was disputed by the prosecution counsel, Rotimi Oyedepo.
The trial has been adjourned to March 11 for continuation.
This development follows ex-SGF Mustapha’s testimony in mid-February, where he testified that neither he nor former President Buhari authorised the disbursement of $6.2 million to international election observers.
Mustapha also denied any involvement or knowledge of the transaction, stating he only learned about it through media reports in December 2023 and questioned the document’s authenticity.
Emefiele is currently facing 20 charges.
The Economic and Financial Crimes Commission (EFCC) accused Emefiele of conspiracy, breach of trust, forging documents and illegally obtaining $6.2 million from the CBN in February 2023, claiming a presidential directive for election observer funding.
Emefiele, on February 8, 2023, allegedly connived with one Odoh Ocheme, who is now on the run, to obtain $6.2 million from the CBN, claiming that the SGF requested it “vide a letter dated January 26, 2023, with Ref No. SGF.43/L.01/201,″ according to the amended charge marked CR/577/2023.
