Nigerian authorities are seeking Interpol’s assistance to apprehend three suspects who allegedly conspired with former central bank chief Godwin Emefiele to steal $6.2 million using a forged signature of then-President Muhammadu Buhari, according a report by the BBC.
Emefiele, facing 20 charges including the illegal receipt of the stolen funds, denies any wrongdoing but remains out on bail in the high-profile corruption case. The alleged theft represents the most brazen scandal since President Bola Tinubu assumed power last May on pledges to crack down on Nigeria’s endemic graft.
Along with Emefiele, prosecutors have named alleged co-conspirators Adamu Abubakar, Imam Abubakar, and Odoh Ocheme, a former central bank employee, in the forged document scheme. Authorities believe the suspects have already fled Nigeria, spurring the international arrest warrant to facilitate their repatriation.
Details of the alleged theft emerged Tuesday as Boss Mustapha, a top aide in Buhari’s government, testified in Abuja federal court for Emefiele’s trial. Mustapha stated that neither he nor Buhari signed off on the $6.2 million withdrawal from the central bank vaults in January 2022.
“The signature is a weak attempt at imitating President Buhari’s signature,” Mustapha noted when presented the fraudulent paperwork. He further declared the document did not originate from Buhari’s office, according to local reports.
The fabricated memo claimed Buhari required the funds to pay foreign election observers. Instead, prosecutors say Emefiele illicitly engineered the cash withdrawal just months before leaving his post when Buhari’s term ended.
Emefiele, whom Buhari reappointed in 2019 after an initial 2014 appointment, has called the allegations “barefaced lies” concocted by overzealous investigators. But the court testimony revealing the bogus paperwork has led authorities to target his purported accomplices.
The accused ringleader Adamu Abubakar and his co-conspirators Imam Abubakar and Odoh Ocheme have provided no public statements on their role. Their disappearance from Nigeria shortly after the theft led officials to engage Interpol and issue warrants to enable international law enforcement cooperation.
The unfolding investigation represents Tinubu’s first major test two months into his presidency to crack down on corruption and rebuild trust in Nigeria’s institutions. Critics have blasted the government response as late and lenient given Emefiele faces no travel restrictions while awaiting trial. Nonetheless, the Interpol warrants signal authorities now taking aggressive action to pursue the larger web of culprits in the brazen central bank fraud scheme.
