A Director in the Federal Ministry of Finance, Ali Mohammed, has told the Federal Capital Territory High Court sitting in Maitama, Abuja, that the ministry was unaware of the withdrawal of N124.86bn from the Central Bank of Nigeria.
Mohammed, who testified as the 10th prosecution witness, PW10, gave the evidence on Tuesday, October 6, 2026, during the ongoing trial of former CBN Governor, Godwin Emefiele.
Led in evidence by prosecution counsel, Abbas Mohammed, the witness said he appeared before the court after the Ministry of Finance received a letter from the investigation team concerning N154bn allegedly withdrawn by the CBN.
Explaining his responsibilities at the ministry, Mohammed said he oversees three divisions under the Department of Home Finance, including State and Public Finance, Trade, and Banking and Other Financial Institutions.
“My Lord, the Department of Home Finance is made up of three functions based in three divisions, that is State and Public Finance, Trade Division and Banking and Other Financial Institutions. The three divisions are under me,” he told the court.
Mohammed said after receiving the investigator’s letter, he contacted the three divisions under his supervision to establish whether any of them was aware of the transaction.
According to him, none of the divisions had prior knowledge of the transaction.
He said the State and Public Finance Investment Division was particularly relevant because it was responsible for overseeing the CBN.
The witness said he subsequently wrote to the Office of the Accountant-General of the Federation through the Permanent Secretary of the Ministry of Finance to determine whether the office was aware of the transaction.
He explained that the step was necessary because the Accountant-General’s office is the custodian of payments for the Federal Government.
Mohammed told the court that the Office of the Accountant-General of the Federation responded in writing that it was unaware of the transaction and concluded that the money was a direct credit from the CBN.
He said he relied on the response before communicating with the Special Investigator.
“I responded via a memo of what has transpired between my office and that of the AGF and sought for clearance for such document to be forwarded to the Special Investigator. Subsequently, the letter was forwarded,” Mohammed said.
The witness said the documents sent to the Special Investigator included a letter bearing the logo of the Federal Ministry of Finance, which he signed, as well as an attached letter signed by the Accountant-General of the Federation.
Mohammed identified the documents when they were shown to him in court, prompting the prosecution to seek their admission in evidence.
Asked about the whereabouts of the original documents, he said they had already been forwarded to the Special Investigator.
He consequently sought to tender certified true copies of the documents.
Defence counsel, Olalekan Ojo, SAN, said he had no objection to their admission.
Justice Maryanne Anineh subsequently admitted the documents in evidence and marked them as Exhibits AJ, AK and AL.
During further examination, the prosecution asked Mohammed to explain the purpose of Exhibit AJ.
The witness said the document established that the Federal Ministry of Finance had no knowledge of the N124.86bn withdrawal.
“The import of the document was that the withdrawal of N124.86 billion was not known to the Federal Ministry of Finance,” he said.
Mohammed added that his response was based on the letter forwarded to the ministry by the Accountant-General of the Federation.
Explaining Exhibit AL, the witness said it was the confirmation from the Office of the Accountant-General of the Federation that it was unaware of the transaction involving the N124.86bn.
