Zenith Bank’s Assistant Manager, Ifeoma Ogbonnaya, delivered a bombshell in court: former Central Bank of Nigeria (CBN) Governor Godwin Emefiele funneled millions to his wife, Margaret Emefiele.
Zenith Bank’s assistant manager, Ifeoma Ogbonnaya, dropped bombshells in court about former CBN Governor Godwin Emefiele’s financial moves. She exposed how he transferred millions to his wife, Margaret, using Zenith Bank and multiple companies.
In her testimony to the Ikeja Special Offences Court on Tuesday, Ogbonnaya laid bare the mechanics of these transactions, revealing the use of Zenith Bank to move massive sums of naira to Margaret through various companies.
These revelations come as Emefiele faces charges of abusing his office and orchestrating a staggering $4.5 billion and N2.8 billion fraud.
Led by EFCC Counsel Rotimi Oyedepo, Ogbonnaya described how funds flowed through entities like Amswing Resources, Limelight Dimensional Service Ltd., Omec Support Service Ltd., and Mango Farm.
“Limelight managed CBN’s facilities at Alakija,” she said, noting the company’s involvement in maintenance and repairs under dubious contracts.
Despite not interacting directly with Emefiele, Ogbonnaya managed the accounts based on instructions from Margaret.
She stated that she received transfer orders either directly from Margaret or through intermediaries, John Ogah and Opeyemi Oludimu, both linked to Emefiele.
Margaret, she emphasized, was the primary beneficiary of these transactions. “She sent transfer instructions to my official email or via her proxies,” Ogbonnaya testified.
“All transactions made in the accounts were confirmed by Mrs. Emefiele before they were processed.”
Ogbonnaya provided a detailed breakdown of the transactions: millions flowed from CBN accounts on multiple occasions, including N18.9 million and N1.8 million between March 9-11, 2015, N43 million on February 22, 2021, N37.3 million on July 21, 2022, and N93.1 million on May 10, 2023.
She communicated with Margaret via email, phone calls, and WhatsApp, maintaining records on her office computer.
“The documents were sent to my email, and when the investigation started, I was requested to print all the documents for law enforcement, which I did,” she explained.
She also provided a certificate verifying the documents’ authenticity.
According to NAN, the prosecution introduced these documents into evidence without objection from Emefiele’s defense counsel, Olalekan Ojo, and Kazeem Gbadamosi.
The documents detailed the funds’ inflows and outflows, showcasing the breadth of the alleged corruption.
Furthermore, the court admitted an A4 paper listing Ogbonnaya’s interactions with Margaret, though defense counsels objected to Ogbonnaya recalling details from her phone.
Earlier, Justice Rahman Oshodi allowed the defense’s request to recall the first prosecution witness, Monday Osazuwa.
The EFCC had arraigned Emefiele on April 8 on 23 charges, including abuse of office and corrupt demands.
His co-defendant, Henry Omoile-Isioma, faced three counts of accepting gifts as an agent. However, both pled not guilty.
The case, charged with allegations of massive financial misconduct, resumes on July 10.
This scandal raises questions about financial oversight and accountability at Nigeria’s highest banking levels.
How did such massive transactions go unnoticed for so long?
The revelations could have far-reaching implications for the credibility of Nigeria’s financial institutions.
