John Adetola, a personal assistant to Godwin Emefiele, the former governor of the Central Bank of Nigeria (CBN), testified on Thursday in the ongoing corruption trial against his former boss.
Emefiele is facing charges of abuse of office and alleged misappropriation of $4.5 billion and N2.8 billion during his tenure. The case is being prosecuted by the Economic and Financial Crimes Commission (EFCC) at the Ikeja Special Offences Court in Lagos. He is standing trial alongside Henry Omoile, a co-defendant charged with unlawful acceptance of gifts by agents.
At the hearing, EFCC counsel Rotimi Oyedepo outlined Adetola’s role in managing correspondence and visitors for Emefiele during his time as CBN governor. According to Oyedepo, this placed Adetola in close contact with the accused.
During his testimony, Adetola revealed that in February 2023, he was summoned by the EFCC to discuss his relationship with Emefiele. He further testified that in 2018, he was instructed to collect $400,000 in cash from John Ayoh, a former CBN director, on Emefiele’s behalf.
“In 2018, Mr. Eric Odoh, the governor’s personal assistant in Abuja, informed me to meet Mr. John Ayoh, the former ICT director, to collect $400,000 and deliver it to the governor,” Adetola recounted. He said the cash was handed over to Emefiele after being retrieved from Ayoh’s residence in Lekki.
Earlier in the trial, Ayoh admitted to collecting $600,000 in kickbacks from contractors and delivering the funds to Emefiele’s personal aides, as per the governor’s instructions.
Adetola further confirmed his communication with Emefiele through various channels, including email, phone, and direct conversations. He identified documents presented in court that detailed official correspondence between himself, Emefiele, Ayoh, and Odoh.
The EFCC sought to tender the documents for identification, a motion that Emefiele’s lawyer, Olalekan Ojo, did not contest. However, Adeyinka Kotoye, counsel for the second defendant, objected, arguing that the documents lacked legal grounding.
Presiding Judge Rahman Oshodi ruled in favor of the EFCC, accepting the documents as relevant evidence. The case was adjourned to December 10 for cross-examination of the witness.
The trial has drawn significant attention as it involves one of the country’s highest-ranking former officials, raising questions about accountability and corruption within Nigeria’s financial sector.
