On Wednesday, October 9, 2024, Edward Adamu, the fourth prosecution witness in the trial of former Central Bank of Nigeria (CBN) Governor Godwin Emefiele, testified before Justice Maryanne Anenih at the Federal Capital Territory High Court in Maitama, Abuja. Adamu revealed that Emefiele did not secure the necessary approvals from either former President Muhammadu Buhari or the CBN Board for the 2023 naira redesign, as required by regulations.
Under the guidance of prosecution counsel Rotimi Oyedepo, SAN, Adamu outlined the standard process for currency redesign. It typically begins with the Director of Currency Operations submitting a proposal to the Committee of Governors (COG), which then forwards it to the CBN Board for approval. The final step is obtaining presidential endorsement.
However, Adamu testified that Emefiele bypassed these procedures by convening a COG meeting, where he claimed to have already obtained presidential approval and immediately initiated the redesign.
“I became aware in October 2022 when the governor informed the deputy governors that he had received express approval for the redesign,” Adamu said. “On October 26, 2022, we were formally told of the presidential approval, and later, the redesign was publicly announced. During a meeting, the governor showed us the president’s approval document, and this was reiterated in a subsequent CBN Board meeting.”
Adamu further testified that the final designs of the naira notes—specifically the N200, N500, and N1000 denominations—were significantly altered from what was initially approved, alleging that Emefiele made these changes unilaterally.
During cross-examination, defence counsel Olalekan Ojo, SAN, asked whether there had been previous cases where presidential approval was granted before informing the CBN Board. Adamu responded that such a practice was not followed during his time at the bank.
Justice Anenih discharged the witness after the cross-examination and adjourned the trial until October 17, 2024, for continuation.
