A prosecution witness, John Adetola, told the Lagos Special Offences Court in Ikeja on Monday that he handed $400,000 in cash to the former Central Bank of Nigeria (CBN) Governor, Godwin Emefiele, without documenting the transaction.

Adetola, the seventh prosecution witness and a former executive assistant to Emefiele, admitted during the Economic and Financial Crimes Commission’s (EFCC) investigation that he provided no call records, text messages, or receipts as evidence of the delivery.

Emefiele and his co-defendant, Henry Omoile, are facing 19 charges related to alleged bribery and corrupt demands amounting to $4.5 billion and ₦2.8 billion.

Testifying before Justice Rahman Oshodi, Adetola said he acted on instructions from Eric Odoh, who allegedly contacted him via WhatsApp in 2018, directing him to collect the money from a former CBN Director of IT, Mr John Ayoh, and hand it over to Emefiele in Lagos.

“In 2018, though I don’t recall the exact date, Mr Eric Odoh messaged me on WhatsApp asking me to collect $400,000 from John Ayoh and deliver it to the CBN Governor when he was in Lagos. I went to Ayoh’s residence in Lekki, received an envelope, and handed it to the governor,” Adetola stated.

When asked why he failed to document the transaction, he replied, “I did not see any need for it.”

Under cross-examination by Emefiele’s counsel, Olalekan Ojo (SAN), Adetola confirmed he was not under prosecution and had no immunity deal with the EFCC. 

He also admitted that in his EFCC statement, he did not mention any direct conversation with Emefiele about the cash.

“I told the EFCC everything I knew regarding the alleged financial crimes,” he said.

Adetola further revealed that he spent 11 days in EFCC custody but was never confronted directly with Emefiele or Ayoh. 

Although the EFCC presented WhatsApp chat printouts related to the transaction, Adetola maintained he had no proof of any direct communication with Emefiele concerning the money.

During re-examination by EFCC counsel Rotimi Oyedepo (SAN), he reiterated, “I did not see any need for it,” when asked again about the lack of documentation.

Adetola, who holds an HND in Secretarial Studies and is a member of the Chartered Institute of Personnel Management, described his role as executive assistant.

“My direct boss was the first defendant. He headed the secretariat, and I reported directly to him,” he said, referring to Emefiele.

During further cross-examination by Henry Omoile’s counsel, Yinka Kotoye (SAN), Adetola confirmed he had no dealings with Omoile regarding the cash.

Justice Oshodi subsequently discharged the witness and adjourned the trial to Tuesday (yesteday) for continuation.