Richard Agulu, a former Zenith Bank employee and third prosecution witness for the Economic and Financial Crimes Commission (EFCC), told the FCT High Court in Maitama, Abuja, on Tuesday that due process was waived for deposits and disbursements of billions of naira on behalf of former Central Bank of Nigeria (CBN) Governor Godwin Emefiele. Agulu identified Macaulay Ihekoronya, a former head of operations at Zenith Bank, as one of the officials who granted the controversial waivers. He said his superiors, including Ihekoronya, gave waivers at various times for the transactions, and he himself also took such decisions in certain situations.
Defence questions witness’s role
During cross-examination, defence lawyer Matthew Burkaa, a Senior Advocate of Nigeria (SAN), questioned why Agulu was not on trial for possible breach of banking procedures. Agulu, now a staff member of the Nigerian Communications Commission (NCC), stated that some transactions involved moving funds between accounts based on Emefiele’s instructions and making lodgments into various accounts outside normal banking hours. He maintained his innocence, saying such transactions were not in line with banking procedure but were allowed through waivers. He insisted that certain situations could warrant transactions at odd hours, but the defence suggested he should be prosecuted.
Background of Emefiele’s trial
Emefiele served as Group Managing Director of Zenith Bank until he was appointed CBN governor in 2014. President Bola Tinubu removed him in June 2023 to face investigations and prosecutions for alleged fraud and corruption. He is currently facing charges in different courts. In this case, the EFCC is prosecuting him on eight charges, including criminal breach of trust, conspiracy, forgery, and unlawful possession of properties suspected to be proceeds of crime to the tune of ₦7.8 billion. The anti-graft agency named Emefiele’s aide, Eric Ocheme (said to be at large), as involved in the suspicious transactions. The prosecution alleged that billions of naira linked to Emefiele were kept in proxy accounts belonging to Kelvito Integrated Services and Ifeadigo Integrated Services in Zenith Bank. According to the EFCC, Emefiele unlawfully acquired an estate with 753 housing units in Abuja while serving as CBN governor. The commission has secured an order of final forfeiture of the estate, though Emefiele is appealing. He has denied any wrongdoing.
Witness details his role
Agulu detailed how he disbursed funds on Emefiele’s behalf. He said he took instructions from Emefiele to receive cash from Ocheme and disburse them accordingly, with Emefiele conveying instructions through Ocheme’s phone. Agulu, who worked in banking for 17 years, told the court that withdrawals from deposits he made into Ifeadigo Integrated Services and Kelvito Integrated Services accounts were authenticated by the real account owners and signatories. He added that he had verbal waivers from his superiors to attend to Emefiele’s requests. “My lord, for every transaction, I followed normal banking transaction procedures,” he said, maintaining he did no wrong. “I followed the steps for cash deposition but there are different scenarios for different transactions. There are waivers for some certain customers who can bring cash into the bank. I was not given a written approval but I was given a waiver to attend to the transaction of the defendant which was verbal from my superiors.” He also supervised the transfer of N1.6 billion to MG Properties Limited on Emefiele’s instruction through Ocheme.
Who granted waivers?
Defence lawyer Burkaa questioned why Agulu did not follow Zenith Bank’s operational policy for cash lodgements. The witness became quiet and said, “I do not want to put anyone in trouble.” Trial judge Yusuf Halilu intervened, saying, “It is an issue of fairness,” and urged the witness to speak. Agulu, bowing his head slightly, remained silent. EFCC prosecutor A.O. Mohammed then told the witness, “If you cannot remember to tell the court, you cannot remember.” Burkaa retorted, “You are giving the witness a hint,” eliciting laughter in the courtroom. The judge reminded the lawyers that the witness insisted he did not want to put anyone in trouble. When asked again, Agulu stated, “The head of operations, then, Macaulay Ihekoronya.”
Zenith Bank’s operational policy
Burkaa drew the court’s attention to Zenith Bank’s operational policy, asking the witness to open page five. The section describes the procedure for cash lodgements: cash must be counted, stamped by counters, moved to the supervising note counter, and the head teller. Burkaa asked if Agulu followed this procedure. Agulu replied, “While it (procedure) is correct, this policy is obsolete, as at the time I was leaving the bank, it was no longer in use.” Burkaa asked again if he followed any steps. Agulu said, “You are imposing a big burden on me. There are other intermediaries who handled some of the transactions.” Burkaa assured he would ask those intermediaries if they followed due process. Agulu then said, “I followed the steps for cash deposits,” but insisted that different scenarios applied, and the one the defence read was different. He mentioned approvals and waivers for peculiar situations, such as Emefiele’s alleged instructions to move funds to companies, which did not happen during normal banking hours. When asked which policy allowed for this, Agulu said, “It is not a policy but a waiver,” adding that the waiver was oral.
How I gave waiver
In February, Agulu said Chukwuma Okpala, owner of Kelvito Integrated Services, and Peter Adebayo, owner of Ifeadigo Integrated Services, authenticated certain transactions. Agulu admitted depositing money and writing their names as depositors. When asked if this was wrongful, the prosecution objected, saying the witness was not on trial. On Tuesday, Burkaa asked again if Zenith Bank allowed staff to lodge cash on behalf of account holders. Agulu maintained that certain situations called for waivers. When asked to name the officer who gave the waiver, Agulu said, “There was no officer who authorised me to do so; in that case, I did it on my own.” When asked if the EFCC was aware, he said yes. Burkaa asked, “Have they arraigned you for these actions?” The prosecution objected, but the judge allowed the question. Agulu replied, “No.” Burkaa applied for the court to take cognisance of the witness’s demeanour in refusing to answer questions, but the judge noted the application was professional. The judge then discharged the witness and adjourned proceedings until 3 November.
Witness’s relationship with account owner
In February, Agulu disclosed that Peter Adebayo, owner of Ifeadigo Integrated Services, was his friend. The company is named in the charges as one used to transfer suspicious funds for Emefiele. Burkaa attempted to tender the Corporate Affairs Commission (CAC) status report of Rites Impex Project Limited, but the EFCC objected on grounds of non-certification. On Tuesday, the defence presented it again. The CAC listed both Agulu and Adebayo as directors of the company. Agulu clarified that the company never took off. The defence sought to establish a business partnership between Agulu and Adebayo.
