Abuse Of Office: I Paid $600,000 Bribe To CBN Witness Tells Court

A prosecution witness in the ongoing trial of a former governor of the Central Bank of Nigeria (CBN) Godwin Emefiele, Victor Onyejiuwa, yesterday told the Lagos State Special Offences Court in Ikeja that he paid a $600,000 bribe to the management of the bank through a former director of CBN, John Ayoh.
Onyejiuwa, who is a contractor with the CBN, however, told the judge that he had no direct dealings with Emefiele or other members of the management team of the bank.

He claimed that he was asked to pay $600,000 to the management of CBN before receiving payment for the contract he completed for CBN and that the bribe was paid to Ayoh after serious pressure from him.

The former CBN boss was arraigned before the court alongside one Herry Omoile on allegations of accepting gratification, accepting gifts through agents, corruption, and fraudulent property receipts.

The anti-graft agency also accused the defendant of conferring corrupt advantage on his associates contrary to the Corrupt Practices Act 2000.

The defendants, however, pleaded not guilty.

While being cross-examined by Emefiele’s lawyer, Olalekan Ojo (SAN) Onyejiuwa said that all his communication with Ayoh was done via WhatsApp.

The witness testified his first payment was made to John Ayoh was $400,000 in Lagos, and the second was $200,000 in Abuja.