By Chris Udochikwu
ABUJA – The special investigator appointed by President Bola Tinubu has asked the international criminal police organisation (Interpol) to place three suspects on its watchlist over an alleged fraud of $6,230,000.
The suspects are Adamu Abubakar, Imam Abubakar, and Odoh Eric Ocheme.
The federal government had filed extradition charges against the trio for allegedly forging the signature of ex-President Muhammadu Buhari and documents purportedly written by Boss Mustapha, the former secretary to the government of the federation (SGF), to induce the payment of $6,230,000 from the Central Bank of Nigeria (CBN).
The fund was purportedly meant for foreign election observers.
“That Adamu Abubakar (now at large), Imam Abubakar (now at large), Odoh Eric Ocheme (now at large), Bashirudeen Maishanu and others also now at large, on or about the 23 day of January, 2023, at the Federal Capital Territory (FCT) Abuja, within the jurisdiction of the Federal High Court, forged the following documents: (1) The Presidency, Office of the Secretary to the Government of the Federation Identity Card in the name of Jibril Abubakar; (ii) Letter dated 23 January, 2023 purportedly written by Muhammad Buhari to the Mr. Boss Mustapha; (iii) Letter dated 26 January, 2023 purportedly written by Boss Mustapha to Mr. Godwin Emefiele; (iv) Central Bank of Nigeria Internal Memo dated 31 January, 2023 purportedly written by the Director, Banking Services Department to the Governor, and (v) Central Bank of Nigeria Internal Memo dated 7th February, 2023 purportedly written by the Director, Banking Services Department to the Branch Controller, Abuja, Branch, with the intent that the Central Bank of Nigeria, Abuja Branch may in the belief that the documents are genuine be induced to pay you the sum of six million, two hundred and thirty thousand United States Dollars ($6,230,000.00) and thereby committed an offence punishable under Section 1(2)[c] of the Miscellaneous offences Act, Cap. M17 Laws of the Federation of Nigeria, 2010,” the part of the charge sheet reads.
Godwin Emefiele, the former governor of CBN, is also indicted in the alleged fraudulent payment of $6,230,000
Earlier on Tuesday, Mustapha said neither he nor ex-President Muhammadu Buhari gave any approval for the disbursement of $6,230,000 to international election observers.
Mustapha testified as the second prosecution witness in the trial of Emefiele.
LETTER TO INTERPOL
In a letter dated February 12, 2024, the special investigator asked Interpol to place the three suspects on red notice.
The letter, signed by Eloho Okpoziakpo, the head of operations, office of the special investigator, was addressed to the assistant inspector-general of police, national central bureau (NCB) and Interpol.
“In the course of the Special Investigator’s assignment, Mr. Odoh Eric Ocheme, (a staff of the CBN) now at large and the other two accomplices, also now at large, were discovered to have conspired and forged documents in the name of the President, Federal Republic of Nigeria with which they stole about US$6,230,000 (Six Million, Two Hundred and Thirty Thousand Dollars, in cash, from the coffers of the CBN,” the letter reads.
On January 18, 2024, Inyang Ekwo, a judge at a federal high court in Abuja, issued a warrant of arrest against the three suspects.
CBN: Forged documents used to pay foreign observers $6.2m — Ex-SGF, Mustapha
Former Secretary of the Government of the Federation, Boss Mustapha, said on Tuesday that $6.2m was released from the Central Bank of Nigeria in February 2023 using a forged document.
Mustapha stated this when he appeared as the fourth prosecution witness in the ongoing fraud trial of the immediate-past CBN Governor, Godwin Emefiele, before the Federal Capital Territory High Court in Maitama, Abuja.
The Economic and Financial Crimes Commission had alleged that on February 8, 2023, Emefiele connived with one Odoh Ocheme, who is now on the run, to obtain $6.2m from the CBN, claiming that it was requested by the SGF “vide a letter dated 26th January 2023 with Ref No. SGF.43/L.01/.
The anti-graft agency also alleged that Emefiele, in January 2023, forged a document titled: “RE: PRESIDENTIAL DIRECTIVE ON FOREIGN ELECTION OBSERVER MISSIONS,” dated 26 January 2023 with Ref No. SGF.43/L.01/201.
Led in evidence by the prosecution counsel, Rotimi Jacobs (SAN), on Tuesday, Mustapha noted that neither the documents came from the president nor his office.
He also denied receiving any amount from the said money.
Mustapha said, “All through my service year as the SGF, I never came across these documents it was claimed that Buhari signed. From the face value of this document, having served for five years and seven months as SGF, this document did not emanate from the president for the following reasons.
“A correspondence that has the seal of the Nigerian president does not carry a reference number. The seal is the authority.
“Secondly, I have looked at it and read, that FEC decisions are not transmitted by letters. They are transmitted through extracts after conclusions are adopted.
“Thirdly, I am the custodian of FEC, the president will not refer executives’ conclusions to me.
“Also, in all the five years and seven months, I have never heard of the terms special appropriation provision referred to. The terms known to me, my lord, are appropriation as provided by the appropriation act normally passed by the national assembly and when the government file drafts it brings supplementary appropriation.
“In all the correspondences I have received from Buhari, it has never had ‘please accept the assurance of my highest regard’. I am his subordinate, my correspondences do not carry that.
And lastly, looking at the signature, it is a failed attempt at reproducing Buhari’s signature. I will leave that to the experts.”
Mustapha also told the court that the Federal Government had no business with foreign election observers.
He said, “Nigerian government has no business with foreign election observers. I have managed two election cycles and I know that for a fact. INEC has the sole responsibility for that.”
Mustapha pointed out that the approval for the fund was never on the agenda of the Federal Executive Council held on January 18, 2023, and could not have been approved.
He said, “My lord, there was a meeting on Jan 18. The Vice President presided over the meeting. My role as secretary was to prepare the agenda of the meeting and on that, there was a 16-point agenda. There was no agenda for payment to foreign election observers. Consequently, if it was not an item on the agenda, it can’t be discussed and it will not appear in the conclusion of the meeting of January 18. There was no such approval, conclusion, or transmission for the payment of the money.”
Oyedepo asked him to confirm if the letter conveying the presidential directives for the approval of the money emanated from him, Mustapha responded in the negative.
He also said Abubakar Jubril who was said to have received the money in cash was never a staff of his office.
Mustapha said, “To the best of my knowledge, this letter did not emanate from the OSGF. I did not sign it. My lord, I said it didn’t emanate from me for the following reasons: I am not privy to the operations of the Central Bank. The heading is defective, it presupposes, that there was a previous correspondence before you will say RE. I am not aware of the content of this letter. There was no FEC approval. Thirdly, there were references where I was said to have introduced a principal officer, I am not aware special task force on logistics set up by government.
“I do not know Jubril Abubakar a principal officer I who was alleged to be the coordinator of this task force. I didn’t introduce Jubril. The letter does not conform to the standard with which we write our letters at the OSGF. The reference number is always very clear so you will know the department the letter is from. We paragraph our letter and number them. I can only end my letter with please accept my assurances if I am writing to a superior officer. I could not have written to the governor of the CBN using that word. I also wouldn’t have addressed him as Dear Sir. ”
Oyedepo further asked if the 6.2m dollars paid to one Jubril Abubakar was to his office and if he received a dime from the money.
“Not one dollar was brought to my office. Not the amount and no part of it was brought to me.”
During cross-examination, the counsel for the defendant, Mathew Bukkaar, (SAN) asked if there was any memo to make payments to any government agency.
Mustapha said, “No my lord, if it is related to this transaction. There could have been others but not this.”
Emefiele’s counsel then asked if it was a practice in the OSGF to send staff to any bank to receive cash for whatever purpose.
Responding, the former SGF denied that was a practice in his office.
He said, “It is not a usual practice. I have six permanent secretaries if there is a need. They would have done that. ”
Earlier, during cross-examination, Ogbu Michael, a deputy director at the CBN who was formerly a Branch Controller at the time, told the court that he authorised the payment of the $6.2m after the approval from the banking services department.
