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Breaking: Signatures of both mine and Buhari were forged to withdraw $6.2m from CBN, says Boss Mustapha
The immediate past Secretary to the Government of the Federation, SGF, Mr. Boss Mustapha, on Tuesday, appeared as a witness in the ongoing trial of the former Governor of the Central Bank of Nigeria, CBN, Mr. Godwin Emefiele, before an Abuja High Court sitting at Maitama.
Mustapha, who mounted the box and testified as the fourth prosecution witness, PW-4, revealed to the court that both his signature and that of former President Muhammadu Buhari, was forged by those that withdrew $6,230,000 from the vault of the apex bank on February 8, 2023.
He told the court that he was neither aware nor took part in any correspondence that led to the withdrawal of the fund which was allegedly meant for the payment of foreign election observers.
Led in evidence by counsel to the Economic and Financial Crimes Commission, EFCC, Mr. Rotimi Oyedepo, SAN, the former SGF maintained that documents that authorised the withdrawal of the money, neither emanated from his office nor the presidency.
He equally denied receiving any amount from the said money.
While faulting the authorization letter that was purportedly issued from his office, Mustapha, told the court that it was not the business of the federal government or the office of the SGF to request funds from the CBN for the payment of foreign election observers.
He said the responsibility of relating with such observers was solely that of the Independent National Electoral Commission, INEC.
While distancing himself from the withdrawal, the witness, said: “My lord, all through my service year as the SGF, I never came across these documents.
“It was claimed that Buhari also signed, but on the face value of this document, having served for five years and seven months as SGF, this document did not emanate from the president for the following reasons.
“A correspondent that has the seal of Nigeria does not carry a reference number. The seal is the authority.
“Secondly, I have looked at it and read the document. Federal Executive Council, FEC, decisions are not transmitted by letters. They are transmitted through extracts after conclusions are adopted.
“Thirdly, I am the custodian of FEC, the president will not refer executives’ conclusions to me.
“Also, in all the five years and seven months I stayed in office, I never heard of the term ‘Special Appropriation Provision’, referred to me.
“The terms known to me my lord are appropriation as provided by the Appropriation Act, which is normally passed by the National Assembly. When the government file drafts, it brings Supplementary Appropriation.
“In all the correspondences I have received from Buhari, it has never had or ended with: ‘Please accept the assurance of my highest regard.’
“I am his subordinate. My correspondences do not carry that.
“And lastly, looking at the signature, it is a failed attempt at reproducing Buhari’s signature. I will leave that to the experts,” he added.
An official of the apex bank, Mr. Onyeka Ogbu, had earlier in his testimony, told the court that the money was withdrawn and handed in cash to an official from the office of the SGF, named Jibril Abubakar.
He said the action was backed by approvals by both President Buhari and the embattled former CBN governor, Emefiele, following a request by the ex-SGF, Mustapha.
However, in his evidence, the former SGF told the court that he never knew the said Abubakar, adding that he was not a staff in his office.
He equally told the court that contrary to the claim in the letter, President Buhari did not preside over the FEC meeting on the day the purported approval was given, but the then Vice President, Prof. Yemi Osinbajo, SAN.
Meanwhile, trial Justice Hamza Muazu has adjourned further hearing in the matter till March 7.
The former CBN governor is answering to an amended 20-count charge the EFCC preferred against him.
The charge against him borders on criminal conspiracy, forgery, breach of trust and the allegation that he conferred undue advantage on himself.
Specifically, EFCC accused the defendant of obtaining about $6.2million through false pretence, alleging that he falsely represented the SGF.
He was accused of committing an offence that was in contravention of Section 1(1) of the Advance Fee Fraud and Other Fraud Related Offences Act, 2006, and punishable under Section 1(3) of the same Act.
According to the amended charge, marked: CR/577/2023, Emefiele, on February 8, 2023, connived with one Odoh Ocheme, who is now on the run, to obtain $6.2m from the CBN, claiming that it was requested by the SGF “vide a letter dated 26th January 2023 with Ref No. SGF.43/L.01/201.”
EFCC alleged that the defendant, in January 2023, forged the document titled: “RE: PRESIDENTIAL DIRECTIVE ON FOREIGN ELECTION OBSERVER MISSIONS.”
It further alleged that contract for the renovation of the CBN Governor’s lodge, located at No. 2 Glover Road, Ikoyi, Lagos, was awarded to a company named Messrs Architekon Nigeria Limited, wherein Emefiele’s wife and brother in-law, were directors and majority shareholders.
Offences the defendant committed, according to the EFCC, contravened sections 17, 19 of the corrupt practices and other related offences Act, 2000, as well as sections 315, 363 and 364 of the penal code.
The court had on November 22, 2023, granted Emefiele bail to the tune of N300m with two sureties in the like sum.
The court stressed that the sureties must be resident within the FCT Abuja and owners of landed properties within the Maitama District.
Besides, the court seized his travelling documents.
One of the counts in the amended charge, read: “That you, Godwin Ifeanyi Emefiele, male, adult, sometime in March 2020 within the jurisdiction of this honourable court, did use your position as governor of the Central Bank of Nigeria to confer a corrupt advantage on your wife, Omoile Margret, and brother-in-law Omoile Macombo, by awarding a contract for the external renovation of the CBN Governor’s residence lying, being and situate at No. 2 Glover Road, Ikoyi, Lagos, in the sum of N99.826m to Messrs Architekon Nigeria Limited, a company wherein the duo are directors and majority shareholders and you thereby committed an offence.”
The Niger Delta Development Commission, NDDC, is hosting a two-day strategic meeting with commissioners, permanent secretaries, and directors of agriculture, fisheries & livestock in the nine Niger Delta states.
The meeting, which kicks off on Thursday in Port Harcourt, Rivers State, would be addressed by the NDDC Managing Director, Dr Samuel Ogbuku, who is expected to outline his plans for a retreat and agricultural summit for the Niger Delta region in line with President Bola Ahmed Tinubu administration’s agrarian programme.
An invitation extended to the stakeholders by the NDDC Director of Agric and Fisheries, Dr Winifred Madume, stated that the Commission was determined to make the Renewed Hope Agenda of the Federal Government a reality in the Niger Delta region by ensuring food security for the people.
Recall that the NDDC Chief Executive Officer had earlier assured that the Commission would align with the President’s vision for agriculture, to ensure that agriculture served as a platform for peace and security in the Niger Delta region.
Ogbuku promised: “Any time from now, the NDDC will convene a mini-agricultural retreat for state governments and commissioners of agriculture. States in the region have their various areas of strength in agriculture. We aim to establish regional agricultural integration, which will later evolve into a regional agricultural summit where a comprehensive master plan for the region’s agriculture will be developed.”
The Managing Director affirmed that the NDDC was engaging all stakeholders to ensure harmony and cooperation in developing the hitherto neglected Niger Delta region.
Reflecting on the Federal Government’s agricultural policies, Ogbuku stressed the need to bring them home to the Niger Delta region, noting that the NDDC would continue to promote policies and programmes that enhance food security and poverty reduction in the states .
President Bola Tinubu has approved the introduction of a 15 per cent ad-valorem import duty on petrol and diesel imports into Nigeria.
The initiative is aimed at protecting local refineries and stabilising the downstream market, but it is likely to raise pump prices.
In a letter dated October 21, 2025, reported publicly on October 30, 2025, and addressed to the Federal Inland Revenue Service and the Nigerian Midstream and Downstream Petroleum Regulatory Authority, Tinubu directed immediate implementation of the tariff as part of what the government described as a “market-responsive import tariff framework.”
The letter, signed by his Private Secretary, Damilotun Aderemi, and obtained by our correspondent on Wednesday, conveyed the President’s approval following a proposal by the Executive Chairman of the FIRS, Zacch Adedeji.
The proposal sought the application of a 15 per cent duty on the cost, insurance and freight value of imported petrol and diesel to align import costs with domestic market realities.
Adedeji, in his memo to the President, explained that the measure was part of ongoing reforms to boost local refining, ensure price stability, and strengthen the naira-based oil economy in line with the administration’s Renewed Hope Agenda for energy security and fiscal sustainability.
“The core objective of this initiative is to operationalise crude transactions in local currency, strengthen local refining capacity, and ensure a stable, affordable supply of petroleum products across Nigeria,” Adedeji stated.
The FIRS boss also warned that the current misalignment between locally refined products and import parity pricing has created instability in the market.
“While domestic refining of petrol has begun to increase and diesel sufficiency has been achieved, price instability persists, partly due to the misalignment between local refiners and marketers,” he wrote.
He noted that import parity pricing- the benchmark for determining pump prices, often falls below cost recovery levels for local producers, particularly during foreign exchange and freight fluctuations, putting pressure on emerging domestic refineries.
Adedeji added that the government’s responsibility was now “twofold, to protect consumers and domestic producers from unfair pricing practices and collusion, while ensuring a level playing field for refiners to recover costs and attract investments.”
He argued that the new tariff framework would discourage duty-free fuel imports from undercutting domestic producers and foster a fair and competitive downstream environment.
According to projections contained in the letter, the 15 per cent import duty could increase the landing cost of petrol by an estimated N99.72 per litre.
“At current CIF levels, this represents an increment of approximately 99.72 per litre, which nudges imported landed costs toward local cost-recovery without choking supply or inflating consumer prices beyond sustainable thresholds. Even with this adjustment, estimated Lagos pump prices would remain in the range of N964.72 per litre ($0.62), still significantly below regional averages such as Senegal ($1.76 per litre), Cote d’Ivoire ($1.52 per litre), and Ghana ($1.37 per litre).”
The policy comes as Nigeria intensifies efforts to reduce dependence on imported petroleum products and ramp up domestic refining.
The 650,000 barrels-per-day Dangote Refinery in Lagos has commenced diesel and aviation fuel production, while modular refineries in Edo, Rivers and Imo states have started small-scale petrol refining.
However, despite these gains, petrol imports still account for up to 67 per cent of national demand.
President Bola Ahmed Tinubu has decorated the new Service Chiefs with their new ranks in the military to suit their new positions.
The newly decorated handlers of the nation’s Armed Forces include Lieutenant General, now General Olufemi Olatubosun Oluyede, as Chief of Defence Staff; and Major General now Lieutenant General Emmanuel Undiendeye Undiendeye as Chief of Defence Intelligence (CDI).
Others are Major General, now Lieutenant General Waidi Shaibu as Chief of Army Staff (COAS); Air Vice Marshal, now Air Marshal Kevin Aneke as Chief of Air Staff;
Service chiefs pledge improved security, local arms production, technology use
Tinubu last Friday announced the replacement of the Service Chiefs, a move that has been attributed to the need to refocus and strengthen national security.
While commenting on his action, President Tinubu, in a post on his verified X handle, charged the new military chief helmsmen to “deepen professionalism, vigilance, and unity within our Armed Forces as they serve our nation with honour”.
Tinubu decorates Service Chiefs with new ranks
Tinubu decorates Service Chiefs
President Bola Ahmed Tinubu has decorated the new Service Chiefs with their new ranks in the military to suit their new positions.
The newly decorated handlers of the nation’s Armed Forces include Lieutenant General, now General Olufemi Olatubosun Oluyede, as Chief of Defence Staff; and Major General now Lieutenant General Emmanuel Undiendeye Undiendeye as Chief of Defence Intelligence (CDI).
Others are Major General, now Lieutenant General Waidi Shaibu as Chief of Army Staff (COAS); Air Vice Marshal, now Air Marshal Kevin Aneke as Chief of Air Staff;
Service chiefs pledge improved security, local arms production, technology use
Tinubu last Friday announced the replacement of the Service Chiefs, a move that has been attributed to the need to refocus and strengthen national security.
While commenting on his action, President Tinubu, in a post on his verified X handle, charged the new military chief helmsmen to “deepen professionalism, vigilance, and unity within our Armed Forces as they serve our nation with honour”.
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