Ex-SGF Boss Mustapha Testifies in Emefiele Trial: Denies Involvement in $6.2m Election Observers Payment

Former Secretary to the Government of the Federation (SGF), Boss Mustapha, took the stand at the Federal Capital Territory (FCT) High Court in Abuja on Tuesday, providing testimony in the ongoing trial of former Governor of the Central Bank of Nigeria (CBN), Godwin Emefiele.

Emefiele faces a 20-count amended charge, including allegations of corrupt advantages, conspiracy, criminal breach of trust, forgery, and obtaining by false pretenses, involving a sum of $6,230,000. The ex-CBN governor is accused of impersonating the SGF in the illegal acquisition of funds.

Mustapha, appearing as Prosecution Witness 2, asserted his lack of knowledge regarding the transaction, stating that he remained unaware of it until he left office in May 2023 after serving for five years and seven months. He emphasized that the contested document did not originate from the office of then-President Muhammadu Buhari.

The previous day, Prosecution Witness 1, Onyeka Ogbu, Deputy Director of Branch Operations at the CBN, detailed how Emefiele sanctioned a $6.2 million cash payment for international election observers during the 2023 general election.

During Tuesday’s proceedings, Mustapha disclosed his unfamiliarity with the term “Special Appropriation Provision,” affirming that the only terms he recognized were “Appropriation” and “Supplementary.”

Mustapha further pointed out that in his tenure, he never received correspondences from former President Buhari concluding with the phrase “Please accept with my highest regard,” considering it a failed attempt at replicating Buhari’s signature.

Mustapha concluded by emphasizing that the Federal Government has no involvement in the payment of foreign election observers and stated that Federal Executive Council decisions are not transmitted through letters. The trial continues as the defense and prosecution present their respective cases.