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Emefiele’s trial: How banks caused naira scarcity, hoarded redesigned notes- Witness - VANGUARD
By Ikechukwu Nnochiri
ABUJA— The trial of the former Governor of the Central Bank of Nigeria, CBN, Mr. Godwin Emefiele, resumed before a High Court of the Federal Capital Territory, FCT, yesterday, as a witness narrated how hoarding caused a scarcity of the redesigned naira notes issued under the defendant’s leadership.
The witness, Mr. Chinedu Eneanya, who is an operative of the Economic and Financial Crimes Commission, EFCC, said investigation by the anti-graft agency revealed that most commercial banks were involved in cash hoarding, a development that occasioned untold hardship to Nigerians.
Answering questions under cross-examination, Eneanya, who mounted the box as the seventh prosecution witness (PW-7), said he could not immediately confirm the specific banks that engaged in the conduct.
Asked to confirm if the EFCC made any arrests with respect to the infractions, the prosecution counsel, Mr. A. Mohammed objected to the question, insisting it was outside the scope of duty of the witness.
“His beat was specific; whether it (naira redesign) had a valid approval,” the prosecution lawyer argued.
However, Emefiele’s counsel, Mr. Olalekan Ojo, SAN, insisted that the question was relevant since the substratum of the case against his client was that he caused undue hardship to Nigerians due to the shortage of the redesigned currencies.
In a bench ruling, trial Justice Maryann Anenih, asked the witness to answer the question.
Responding, Eneanya, said: “My lord, like I stated before this court, the EFCC raised a task force for that. I did not say that it was my team.”
The witness added that he was not aware of what the EFCC did to the bank officials that caused the infractions.
Asked to tell court on whose instructions the EFCC embarked on the visit to the commercial banks, the witness said he was not privy to that information.
Justice Anenih adjourned the case till March 19 for further cross-examination of the witness.
The former CBN boss if being prosecuted by the EFCC before the court on a four-count charge.
