Emefiele trial: Witness says Zenith Bank approved N5bn transfers by oral waiver

Richard Agulu, a former Zenith Bank employee on Tuesday told the Federal Capital Territory (FCT) High Court in Maitama, Abuja, that he received an oral waiver from the bank’s management to process more than N5 billion in disputed transactions outside the lender’s standard operational procedures.

Agulu, the third prosecution witness (PW3) in the ongoing trial of
Godwin Emefiele, former Central Bank of Nigeria (CBN) governormade the disclosure during cross-examination by Mathew Burkaa, SAN, counsel to Emefiele.

Agulu said the waiver was granted by Macauly Ihekoronye, then Zenith Bank’s head of operations, because the transactions were considered “peculiar.”

“It is a peculiar transaction. I have permission or waiver to operate and I was given an oral waiver,” the witness told the court.

He admitted transferring more than N5 billion into the accounts of Ifeadigo and Kelvito Investment without following the bank’s standard procedures, explaining that the transactions were executed outside normal banking hours.

According to the witness, instructions to carry out the transfers came from Eric Ocheme, who the prosecution identified as a personal assistant to Emefiele and is currently at large.

Agulu further admitted making cash lodgements into customers’ accounts while indicating in the transaction narrations that the deposits were made by the account holders themselves.

Under cross-examination, he acknowledged that the transactions did not comply with Zenith Bank’s operational procedures but maintained that the oral waiver authorised the deviations because of the circumstances surrounding the transactions.

The witness also confirmed that despite circumventing the bank’s procedures, he was not prosecuted by the Economic and Financial Crimes Commission (EFCC).

Agulu told the court that he never had direct contact with Emefiele throughout the transactions. He also said his statement to the EFCC did not indicate that he delivered payment receipts to the former CBN governor.

Emefiele and Ocheme are standing trial in charge number FCT/HC/CR/358/2025. The EFCC accused the defendants of unlawfully maintaining billions of naira in proxy accounts with Zenith Bank.

The anti-graft agency also alleged that Emefiele forged a document titled Irrevocable Power of Attorney Between MG Properties Limited and H and Y Business Global Limited in January 2021 with the intent to make it appear that it had been validly executed by, or with the authority of, H and Y Business Global Limited.

The alleged offences contravene Sections 319, 362 and 364 of the Penal Code. Emefiele has pleaded not guilty to all the charges.

Following the cross-examination, Burkaa urged the court to take judicial notice of what he described as the witness’s unwillingness to answer questions relating to his role in the disputed transactions.

However, prosecution counsel Abbas Mohammed opposed the application, arguing that it was solely for the court to determine whether a witness was withholding information.

Justice Yusuf Halilu subsequently adjourned the matter until November 3 for the continuation of trial.