In a recent court session at the Federal Capital Territory High Court in Abuja, a witness from the Economic and Financial Crimes Commission (EFCC) revealed that the former Central Bank of Nigeria Governor, Godwin Emefiele, allegedly disregarded the approved naira redesign by ex-President Muhammadu Buhari. The witness, identified as Chinedu Eneanya, testified that Buhari had endorsed a redesign with advanced security features, including color changes and a QR code. However, Emefiele purportedly chose to implement a different design hastily.
During the trial, Eneanya, serving as Principal Witness 7, mentioned that four deputy governors of the CBN confirmed that Buhari’s directive was not followed. Emefiele faces charges of abuse of office and financial misconduct related to the redesign of the N200, N500, and N1,000 notes without proper approvals.
The witness claimed that Emefiele’s decision to deviate from the presidential directive resulted in unnecessary expenses, which could have been allocated to other national priorities. Additionally, Eneanya testified that despite Buhari’s instruction to have the new notes designed and printed locally, Emefiele awarded the contracts to a UK-based company, De La Rue, leading to payments in pounds sterling.
The prosecution sought an adjournment to continue the witness’s testimony, indicating the submission of additional evidence, including electronic proof. Furthermore, plans were made to have two UK-based witnesses testify virtually. Despite objections from the defense counsel, the court upheld the prosecution’s request.
The case was adjourned to April 29 for the continuation of the witness’s examination.