John Ayoh, a former director at the Central Bank of Nigeria (CBN), has testified against Godwin Emefiele, former governor of the bank, in the ongoing case at the Lagos high court, in Ikeja.
Mr Ayoh, head of procurement and support services, told the court on Monday that the defendant collected $400,000 and $200,000 as kickbacks.
Mr Emefiele and his co-defendant, Henry Omoile, are currently facing trial on a 26-count charge at the Lagos court.
The duo had pleaded not guilty to all the charges.
At the resumed hearing, the Economic and Financial Crimes Commission (EFCC) presented Mr Ayoh as the second witness in the case against Mr Emefiele.
The witness said as a director, he was vested with powers to receive bids and select successful bidders.
The former CBN director said he collected money from contractors as gratification of awarding contracts to them based on the instruction of Mr Emefiele.
The witness said Me Emefiele usually sends his personal assistant — John Adetona — to collect the contractors’ kickback from him.
Ayoh said he collected $400,000 and $200,000 inside envelopes in cash from contractors on two different occasions and handed them over to Mr Emefiele’s personal assistant.
“The first transaction was $400,000 and the second one was $200,000 in cash. I was in my house when the first envelope was brought to me. His assistant was asked to collect the money,” he said.
“One of the vendors had a contract with CBN, which involved the implementation of data storage and infrastructure.
“The first package was collected in my residence at Lekki phase one, while the second package was collected at the head office in Lagos.”
The witness was cross-examined by Olalekan Ojo, Mr Emefiele’s lawyer.
He told the court that his schedule of duties did
not include running errands for Mr Emefiele but he directly worked under him.
The witness confirmed to the court that Mr Emefiele was not a member of the PSS but a member of the Major Contract Tender Committee (MCTC).
Asked if he usually collects bribes as the head of PSS while at the CBN, the witness said no.
“Did you know that you were aiding the commission of a crime by collecting the money?” Ojo asked.
“No, I was under duress from my boss (referring to Mr Emefiele). We were faced with tremendous pressure to bend the rule,” the witness said.
Asked if he indicated in his statement with the EFCC that the money was meant to influence award of contracts, the witness said some parts of his statement implied that.
“Who told you that it (the money) is for gratification,” Mr Emefiele’s lawyer asked again.
“The cash is for gratification to the governor for awarding the contracts. He (Mr Emefiele) asked for it. He won’t approve the contract without gratification,” the witness said.
Asked if he was arrested by the EFCC, the witness said he was invited by the anti-graft agency.
Asked if he was granted bail after his invitation, the witness responded in affirmation. The witness told the court that he received a letter from the anti-graft agency concerning two transactions he facilitated through the former bank governor.
Mr Emefiele’s lawyer told the court that the witness must have traded being charged by the EFCC to become a witness against the former CBN boss.
Bail
After the cross-examination of the witness, the defendant’s lawyer sought a fresh interim bail for the former CBN governor, pending the fulfillment of the bail conditions earlier stipulated by the court.
Mr Ojo said he understands that the interim bail granted to Emefiele ended today and that the defense team has not been able to meet the bail conditions.
He urged the court to grant his client another interim bail that would end May 17.
He said his client will meet up before 17 May.
The judge, Rahmon Oshodi, granted the request and ordered that Mr Ojo swear an affidavit to provide Mr Emefiele in the next adjourned date.
Mr Oshodi adjourned the trial to 3, 9 and 17 May for continuation of trial.
Earlier, Mr Emefiele had challenged the jurisdiction of the Lagos high court to hear the charges filed against him by the EFCC.
“This calls for caution. This court is not hungry for jurisdiction. This court is a busy court. It is a court governed by the rule of law,” Emefiele’s counsel said.
“We need to determine whether this court has jurisdiction to embark on a trial. We must toe the path of legality and constitutionality.”
