The Nigerian government has requested the assistance of the International Criminal Police Organisation (INTERPOL) to hunt and arrest three defendants in the alleged withdrawal of $6.2 million from the Central Bank of Nigeria (CBN) last year through a forged document.
The office of the Special Investigator of the CBN, Jim Obazee, made the request on Monday after obtaining an order of the Federal High Court in Abuja.
The office, through a letter by its head of operations, Eloho Okpoziakpo, named the defendants as Adamu Abubakar, Imam Abubakar and Odoh Ochene.
The Economic and Financial Crimes Commission had earlier charged Mr Ochene, who is at large, alongside former CBN Governor, Godwin Emefiele, before the Federal High Court in Abuja with stealing the said sum under the presence that it was requested by the presidency to pay international election observers.
The anti-graft agency alleged that on 8 February 2023, Mr Emefiele connived with Mr Ocheme to obtain $6.2 million from the CBN, claiming that the money was requested by the then Secretary to the Government of the Federation, Boss Mustapha “vide a letter dated 26 January 2023 with Ref No. SGF.43/L.01/.”
The anti-graft agency also alleged that Mr Emefiele, in January 2023, forged a document titled: “RE: PRESIDENTIAL DIRECTIVE ON FOREIGN ELECTION OBSERVER MISSIONS,” dated 26 January 2023 with Ref No. SGF.43/L.01/201.
In the letter to INTERPOL, the office of the special Investigator of the CBN requested the international police agency to “watchlist” and place the three alleged fugitives on its “red notice” with a view to arrest and repatriate them.
The special investigator had earlier obtained a warrant of arrest for the three men from the Federal High Court through a motion ex-parte it filed on 18 January.
In support of the application to INTERPOL, the police have also filed a six-count charge required to activate the process of hunting and arresting the wanted men.
Background
President Bola Tinubu last year appointed Mr Obazee to investigate alleged fraud in the CBN under Mr Emefiele.
A report submitted to the president by the special investigator indicted Mr Emefiele of various crimes, some of which he is now being prosecuted for by the EFCC.
The commission earlier on Monday presented a former branch controller at the CBN, Onyeka Ogbu, as its first prosecution witness. Mr Ogbu testified that he received in January 2023 written approvals of then President Muhammadu Buhari and then Secretary to the Government of the Federation, Boss Mustapha, as well as Mr Emefiele for the withdrawal of the money from the vault.
He said the approval was given for the payment of the money in its equivalent to someone who was presented as an official of the SGF office. He said the money was paid out in April 2023.
But appearing as the fourth prosecution witness in the ongoing trial on Tuesday, the former SGF, Mr Mustapha, denied that he or Mr Buhari gave an approval for the payment.
Led in evidence by the prosecution counsel, Oyedepo Rotimi, Mr Mustapha said the documents came neither from the then president nor his office.
He said his signature and that of Mr Buhari were forged on the letter purportedly giving an approval for the payment.
Mr Mustapha said: “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.
“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.
“Also, in all the five years and seven months, I have never heard of the terms special appropriation provision referred to. The terms known to me, my lord, are appropriation as provided by the Appropriation Act normally
passed by the National Assembly and when the government file drafts, it brings supplementary appropriation.
“In all the correspondences I have received from Buhari, it has never had ‘please accept the assurance of my highest regard’. I am his subordinate, my correspondences do not carry that.
And lastly, looking at the signature, it is a failed attempt at reproducing Buhari’s signature. I will leave that to the experts.”
The Nigerian government’s letter to INTERPOL and the charges filed against Mr Emefiele’s alleged co-conspirators are reproduced below:
REQUEST TO WATCHLIST AND PLACING ON INTERPOL RED NOTICE THREE (3) DEFENDANTS
INVOLVED IN A CASE OF CONSPIRACY AND FRAUD
RE: (I) ADAMU ABUBAKAR
(II) IMAM ABUBAKAR
(III) ODOH ERIC OCHEME
Reference is made to the above subject.
2. The Special Investigator, appointed by the President and Commander-in-Chief of the Federal Republic of Nigeria to investigate the Central Bank of Nigeria (CBN), Related Entities and other Key Government Business Entities (KGBEs) kindly requests you to place the above-named individuals on INTERPOL RED NOTICE.
3. In the course of the Special Investigator’s assignment, Mr. Odoh Eric Ocheme, (a staff of the CBN) now at large and the other two accomplices, also now at large, were discovered to have conspired and forged documents in the name of the President, Federal Republic of Nigeria with which they stole about US $6,230,000 (Six Million, Two Hundred and Thirty Thousand Dollars, in cash, from the coffers of the CBN.
4. Consequent upon the above, a charge was filed and warrants of arrest have been issued by the Federal High Court of Nigeria, Abuja Division presided over by Hon. Justice I.E. Ekwo in Charge No. FHC/ABJ/CR/19/2024 B/w: Federal Republic of Nigeria v. Adamu Abubakar & 2 Ors for the arrest and production of the Defendants named above for their arraignment. The data page of Odoh Eric Ocheme’s Nigerian International Passport No. B50082800, duly certified true copies of the warrants and the Order of the Court to that effect are hereby attached.
5. The Special Investigator therefore pray you to use your good offices to request that the Defendants be placed on INTERPOL RED NOTICE with a view to apprehending and repatriating them from any of the INTERPOL member states to which they may have flown.”
Charges
COUNT 1
That Adamu Abubakar (now at large), Imam Abubakar (now at large), Odoh Eric Ocheme (now at large), Bashirudeen Maishanu and others also now at large, on or about the 23rd day of January, 2023, at the Federal Capital Territory (FCT) Abuja, within the jurisdiction of the Federal High Court, conspired among themselves to commit offence to wit; Forgery and thereby committed an offence contrary to paragraph 3(6) and punishable under Section 1(2)[c] of the Miscellaneous offences Act, Cap. M17 Laws of the Federation of Nigeria, 2010.
COUNT II
That Adamu Abubakar (now at large), Imam Abubakar (now at large), Odoh Eric Ocheme (now at large), Bashirudeen Maishanu and others also now at large, on or about the 23rd day of January, 2023, at the Federal Capital Territory (FCT) Abuja, within the jurisdiction of the Federal High Court, conspired among themselves to commit offence to wit; Uttering forged documents and thereby committed an offence contrary to paragraph 3(6) and punishable under Section 1(2)[c] of the Miscellaneous offences Act, Cap. M17 Laws of the Federation of Nigeria, 2010.
COUNT III
That Adamu Abubakar (now at large), Imam Abubakar (now at large), Odoh Eric Ocheme (now at large), Bashirudeen Maishanu and others also now at large, on or about the 23rd day of January, 2023, at the Federal Capital Territory (FCT) Abuja, within the jurisdiction of the Federal High Court, forged the following documents:
(i) The Presidency, Office of the Secretary to the ernment of the Federation Identity Card in the name of Jibril Abubakar;
(ii) Letter dated 23rd January, 2023 purportedly written by Muhammad Buhari to the Mr. Boss Mustapha;
(iii) Letter dated 26th January, 2023 purportedly written by Boss Mustapha to Mr. Godwin Emefiele;
(iv) Central Bank of Nigeria Internal Memo dated 31st January, 2023 purportedly written by the Director, Banking Services Department to the Governor; and (v) Central Bank of Nigeria Internal Memo dated 7th February, 2023 purportedly written by the Director, Banking Services Department to the Branch Controller, Abuja Branch, with the intent that the Central Bank of Nigeria, Abuja Branch may in the believe that the documents are genuine be induced to pay you the sum of six million, two hundred and thirty thousand United States Dollars ($6,230,000.00) and thereby committed an offence punishable under Section 1(2)[c] of the Miscellaneous offences Act, Cap. M17 Laws of the Federation of Nigeria, 2010.
COUNT IV
That Adamu Abubakar (now at large), Imam Abubakar (now at large), Odoh Eric Ocheme (now at large), Bashirudeen Maishanu and others also now at large, on or about the 23rd day of January, 2023, at the Central Bank of Nigeria, Abuja Branch Office Garki 2, Abuja, within the jurisdiction of the Federal High Court, uttered the following forged documents:
(i) The Presidency, Office of the Secretary to the Government of the Federation Identity Card in the name of Jibril Abubakar;
(ii) Letter dated 23rd January, 2023 purportedly written by Muhammad Buhari to the Mr. Boss Mustapha;
(iii) Letter dated 26th January, 2023 purportedly written by Boss Mustapha to Mr. Godwin Emefiele;
(iv) Central Bank of Nigeria Internal Memo dated 31st January, 2023 purportedly written by the Director, Banking Services Department to the Governor; and (v) Central Bank of Nigeria Internal Memo dated 7th February, 2023 purportedly written by the Director, Banking Services Department to the Branch Controller, Abuja, Branch, with the intent that the Central Bank of Nigeria, Abuja Branch may in the believe that the documents are genuine be induced to pay you the sum of six million, two hundred and thirty thousand United States Dollars ($ 6,230,000.00) and thereby committed an offence punishable under Section 1(2)[c] of the Miscellaneous offences Act, Cap. M17 Laws of the Federation of Nigeria, 2010.
COUNT V
That Adamu Abubakar (now at large), Imam Abubakar (now at large), Odoh Eric Ocheme (now at large), Bashirudeen Maishanu and others also now at large, on or about the 23rd day of January, 2023, at the Federal Capital Territory (FCT) Abuja within the jurisdiction of the Federal High Court,conspired among themselves
to commit an offence to wit; Obtaining Property by false pretence and thereby
committed an offence contrary to Section 8 and punishable under Section 1(3) & Section 10 of the Advanced fee Fraud and other Fraud Related Offences Act, Cap. A6 laws of the Federation of Nigeria 2010.
COUNT VI
That Adamu Abubakar (now at large), Imam Abubakar (now at large), Odoh Eric Ocheme (now at large), Bashirudeen Maishanu and others also now at large, on or about the 23rd day of January, 2023, at the Central Bank of Nigeria, Abuja Branch, within the jurisdiction of the Federal High Court, by false pretence that one man who held out himself as Jibril Abubakar is a Staff from the Office of the Secretary to the Government of the Federation and had approval of the President of the Federal Republic of Nigeria to source money from the Central Bank of Nigeria for foreign Election Observers, and with intent to defraud, obtained the sum of six million, two hundred and thirty thousand United States Dollars ($6,230,000.00) from the Central Bank of Nigeria, Abuja Branch and thereby committed an offence contrary to Section 1(1)[a] and punishable under Section 1(3) & Section 10 of the Advanced Fee Fraud and Othe0r Related Offences Act, Cap. A6 laws of the Federation of Nigeria 2010.
Dated the 18th day of January, 2024.
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