Godwin Emefiele, wife, Margaret Dunbiri Emefiele and children have been indicted in alleged money laundering scam during his tenure at the helm of the CBN.
A report by Secrets Reporters has revealed that Emefiele allegedly laundered money through a company registered under the name of his wife and other family members.
The company in question, Maggo Farms Limited, was registered on October 18, 2018, with the registration number RC 1533205 and listed at 33 Ikorodu Crescent, Dolphin Estate, Lagos. The directors and shareholders named in the registration include Margaret Dunbiri Emefiele, Ucheonye Anthony Mary, Godwin Pammichukwu Junior Emefiele, and Andrew Andres Olisehike Emefiele.
Despite his wife’s claim that the company was registered in 2018, investigations show that the company, initially named “Maggo Farms,” was actually registered on May 19, 2014, shortly after Emefiele was appointed the substantive CBN Governor.
The registration was done under a different director, Oriekose Augustine, with a second director named Oriekose Oriekose Augustine. Interestingly, the address and registration details match those of the later Maggo Farms Limited, indicating that it was, in fact, owned by the Emefiele family.
Maggo Farms Limited’s website also states that the farm had been operating since February 2015, further confirming that the earlier company with Augustine as director is linked to the Emefiele family.
Investigations also uncovered that Maggo Farms, a business registered under the Emefiele family, was repeatedly used to access funds from the CBN’s Anchor Borrowers Fund.
A bank account with Zenith Bank, number 1014400833, was used to collect these funds, with the phone number registered to Margaret Emefiele.
Additionally, documents reveal that on October 5, 2021, Mrs. Emefiele secretly registered another company in the United Kingdom, Coats Investment Group Limited. This company, which was not declared in his CCB asset declaration form, lists her as a director alongside two others, Albert Kwabena Williams and Dan Wangi. The company is registered under company number 13662708, with its address at Flat 3, Dexter Court, Diary Close, London.
Further reports detail how Emefiele allegedly used his position to divert funds for personal gain.
On November 11, 2020, he received N16,181,850 from the CBN, labeled as “Board holiday pay for self to USA,” which was paid into his Zenith Bank account. On the same day, an identical amount was paid into the same account, listed as “Board holiday for spouse to USA.”
Moreover, despite drawing a salary from the CBN, Emefiele reportedly received additional payments from the Nigerian Security Printing and Minting (NSPM). One such payment of N9,988,000 was made on December 15, 2020.
Further revelations show that Emefiele facilitated payments to NEM Insurance, where his younger brother, George Augustine Emefiele, worked as the Deputy General Manager of Marketing. Several large payments were made to NEM Insurance under Emefiele’s direction, including N31,496,300 on March 5, 2020, and N135,628,125 on the same day.
Additionally, the NSPM and CBN also made significant payments to the insurance company during Emefiele’s time in office, raising serious concerns about potential conflicts of interest and financial misconduct.
These developments highlight a pattern of alleged corruption and abuse of power during Emefiele’s leadership of the Central Bank, with his family benefiting from questionable financial dealings.
Account Manager Testifies Against Emefiele, Wife in Court
Ifeoma Ogbonnaya, an Assistant Manager at Zenith Bank, testified in court that Godwin Emefiele, exploited his position to transfer large sums of money to his wife, Margaret Dunbiri Emefiele.
According to the News Agency of Nigeria (NAN), during her testimony in Emefiele’s trial for alleged abuse of office and fraud, Ogbonnaya detailed how the former CBN Governor used Zenith Bank to funnel millions of naira to his wife through various companies, including Amswing Resources and Solutions, Limelight Dimensional Service Ltd., Omec Support Service Ltd., and Mango Farm.
Ogbonnaya, who also holds the role of Business Relationship Manager, explained that although she did not directly interact with Emefiele, she received instructions from his wife and two other individuals connected to him. These instructions directed her to transfer funds from CBN accounts to private company accounts at Zenith Bank. She confirmed that Margaret Emefiele was the final beneficiary of the funds and personally authorized all transactions. Ogbonnaya received these transfer instructions either through email or via intermediaries, with Margaret Emefiele’s explicit approval.
Ogbonnaya went on to describe specific instances where millions of naira were transferred from the CBN to these companies between 2015 and 2023. Communication regarding these transactions took place through various channels, including emails, phone calls, and WhatsApp, and documentation from Ogbonnaya’s work computer was presented as evidence in court.
While Ogbonnaya provided her account number used for communication with Margaret Emefiele, she requested to retrieve some digits from her phone, a request that was challenged by the defense.
This testimony, delivered on Tuesday, July 9, is part of the ongoing trial in which Emefiele faces charges of abuse of office, bribery, and fraud during his time as CBN Governor. Further proceedings in the case are scheduled for Wednesday, July 10.
