•Emefiele
An investigator with the Independent Corrupt Practices and other related offences Commission (ICPC), Michael Agboro, made conflicting claims yesterday about whether or not former Central Bank of Nigeria (CBN) Governor Godwin Emefiele conferred corrupt and unfair advantage on himself while in office.
Agboro, who described himself as the Head of the Financial Unit of the ICPC, told a High Court of the Federal Capital Territory (FCT) while testifying in chief that his investigation revealed that Emefiele conferred corrupt advantage on himself in the award of some contracts.
But under cross-examination, he claimed that Emefiele did not confer corrupt advantage on himself while in office, reports The Nation.
The former CBN governor is standing trial on a 20-count amended charge bordering on criminal breach of trust, conferring corrupt advantage, forgery, conspiracy to obtain by false pretence and obtaining money by false pretence while in office, among others.
He was alleged to have used his position to award six contracts for the supply of different vehicles between 2018 and 2022 valued at N1,210,600,000 to a firm, April 1616 Investment Limited, in which Sa’adatu Ramalan Yaro, a staff of the CBN is a director and shareholder.
Emefiele is also accused, among others, of conferring corrupt advantage on his wife, Omoile Margret, and brother-in-law, Omoile McCombo, by awarding a contract for the renovation of the CBN governor’s residence at 2 Glover Road in Ikoyi, Lagos, at N82,086,129.30 to Messrs Architekon Nigeria Limited in which both are directors and majority shareholders.
Agboro, who was led in evidence by Rotimi Oyedepo (SAN), said the investigative team found out that Emefiele conferred unfair and corrupt advantage of April 1616 Investment Limited, where Sa’adatu Ramalan Yero was a director and shareholder, while being a public servant as a staff member of CBN and Archtekon Nigeria Limited, in which Emefiele’s wife and brother-in-law were directors and shareholders.
He said investigation revealed that Archtekon never had any contractual dealings with the apex bank until Emefiele was appointed.
He said April 1616 was incorporated a few days after Yero was employed by CBN and posted to the bank’s Lagos branch. The witness added that April 1616 started enjoying CBN patronage with procurement of vehicles, particularly the Toyota brand, without being an accredited dealer of the vehicle brand.
Agboro, who was the seventh prosecution witness, said investigation revealed that though Yero’s husband had other companies, they were not patronised, except the one in which his wife was a director while she was a CBN worker.
The witness said Architekon Nigeria Limited was incorporated in 2009, five years before Emefiele was appointed CBN governor.
Agboro added that during the investigation, his team wrote banks and the Corporate Affairs Commission (CAC), requesting for documents on the registration and bank statements of Architecture Nigeria Limited and April 1616 Investment Limited.
At a point, Oyedepo tendered some documents through the witness, which the court admitted in evidence.
The documents included company registration documents, contract award and payment documents on the two companies.
Under cross-examination by Emefiele’s lawyer, Mathew Burkaa (SAN), Agboro said the defendant did not confer any corrupt and unfair advantage on himself when he was in office.
The witness said there was no evidence that Emefiele was a director, a shareholder, or a signatory to the accounts of the two companies.
He added that April 1616 did not pay any money to the defendant.
When asked about the whereabouts of the report of the team’s investigation, Agboro said it was submitted to the Director General of the State Security Service (SSS), Yusuf Bichi.
Again, when asked about the procedure for the award of contract in the CBN, the witness identified three bodies responsible for contract, including the Tenders Board, Contract Approval Council, and the Committee of Board of Governors, where contract bids go through before they are awarded.
On whether the awarded contracts went through the statutory bodies responsible for contract in the bank, Agboro stressed that the contracts were vetted through the procurement department of the bank.
Further hearing in the case was adjourned till April 25.
