Lead witness: Emefiele authorized $6.23 million for foreign election observers

Even though Ogbu made it clear that he didn't have the right to sanction these payments, he acknowledged handling the $6.23 million disbursement.Lead witness Onyeka Ogbu in the trial of Godwin Emefiele, the former governor of the Central Bank of Nigeria (CBN), revealed in court that Emefiele gave the go-ahead for the distribution of $6.23 million to foreign election observers.The information came to light when the trial was resumed in a Federal Capital Territory High Court and Ogbu, a Deputy Director at the CBN, was the first witness to testify.During the trial presided over by Rotimi Oyedepo (SAN), the attorney for the Economic and Financial Crimes Commission (EFCC), Ogbu, listed as PW-1, provided an account of the approval procedure. He clarified that as part of his responsibilities at the CBN, he oversaw branch operations and processed fund releases in compliance with due process. The witness recounted that on January 8, 2023, he was notified by the Banking Services Department about a request for the payment of $6.23 million.