Mr John Adetola, the seventh prosecution witness in the case against former Central Bank of Nigeria Governor Godwin Emefiele, has claimed that he collected $400,000 on Emefiele’s behalf.
Adetola, who identified himself as Emefiele’s Executive Assistant, also explained how he delivered the money to his employer.
He testified on Thursday, answering questions from the EFCC’s counsel, Mr Rotimi Oyedepo, SAN.
He informed the trial judge, Justice Rahman Oshodi, that the functions of his office include managing office communications, greeting visitors, and performing any other responsibilities specified by his supervisor.
He said that these roles allowed him direct access to Emefiele. On the $400,000, Adetola testified that he was summoned from Ekiti, his new location, to pick up the money.
“In 2018, I can’t remember the date, the personal assistant to the CBN Gov in Abuja, Mr Eric Odoh sent me a message on WhatsApp that I should go and collect $400,000 from John Ayoh, the former director of ICT Dept. and give same to the former CBN Governor when he came to Lagos.
“I went to the house of John Ayoh at Lekki in Lagos. He gave me an envelope and I came back to the office, I gave it to the former CBN Governor,” he said
He stated that he communicated with Emefiele, mentioning some of his family members.
After hearing all of the submissions, Justice Oshodi allowed the documents and marked them as for the purpose of identification before adjourning the matter until December 10 for the witness’s cross examination.
