Boss Mustapha, former secretary to the government of the federation (SGF), says neither he nor former President Muhammadu Buhari approved the payment of $6.2 million for the 2023 general election foreign observers, in a move that compounds the legal woes and charges stacked against Godwin Emefiele, the ex-CBN chief.

Mr Emefiele is facing at least 20-count criminal charges bordering on conspiracy to commit a felony, conspiracy to commit forgery, criminal breach of trust, forgery, and procurement fraud.

Mr Mustapha, who testified at the Maitama Division of the FCT High Court on Tuesday, denied knowledge of a letter purported to have emanated from the presidency, approving $6.2 million to pay foreign election observers during the 2023 polls.

“All through my service year as the SGF, I never came across these documents; it was claimed that Buhari signed. 

“From the face value of this document, having served for five years and seven months as SGF, this document did not emanate from the president for the following reasons,” Mr Mustapha said in his testimony Tuesday afternoon.

He added, “A correspondence that has the seal of the Nigerian president does not carry a reference number. The seal is the authority.

“Secondly, I have looked at it and read that FEC decisions are not transmitted by letters. They are transmitted through extracts after conclusions are adopted.”

“Thirdly, I am the custodian of FEC. The president will not refer executives’ conclusions to me.”

The Economic and Financial Crimes Commission is prosecuting Mr Emefiele over financial impropriety during his time as the apex bank boss.

“My Lord, all requests for payments are usually channelled to the branch controller, and that is my office. And on that day, my Lord, the request to my office was $6,230,000, and my attention was drawn towards it by my office assistant,” a former branch controller of the Central Bank of Nigeria, Ogau Onyeka Michael, told the court on Monday. “It came from the banking services department, and the memo carried the signature of the Director, Banking Services, with an instruction to the branch controller to pay the sum of $6,230,000 to a staff of the Secretary to the Government of the Federation, bearing the name and identity card of the person.”

He added, “It stated that the payment was for election observance and should be paid cash in a naira equivalent of the said amount. It further stated that the money should be refunded in the second quarter of 2023 by the Federal Ministry of Finance. My Lord, the document also stated that ‘find attached the approval of the governor of the Central Bank of Nigeria for the payment.”

“Also, the memo had an attached approval of the then secretary to the Government of the Federation and that of the then president of the Federal Republic of Nigeria. Having gone through the document and satisfied that it met the requirement, I then minuted it to the head of the banking services unit for processing and subsequent payment. 

“Mr. Williams, head of banking services, compiled and made the payment on April 8, 2023, and the payment was in cash. I can identify the document because it also carries my signature,” he added.