A former director at the Central Bank of Nigeria (CBN), John Ikechukwu Ayoh, has testified against Godwin Emefiele, former governor of the apex bank, in the ongoing case of abuse of office at the Lagos high court.

Emefiele and his co-defendant, Henry Omoile, is presently being tried on a 26-count charge.

Omoile and the previous governor of the CBN entered not guilty pleas to all of the accusations.

Ayoh was the second witness in the case against Emefiele that the Economic and Financial Crimes Commission (EFCC) called during the court hearings on Monday.

Ayoh stated in court that he did not work directly under Emefiele during his time at the Apex Bank, which he worked there from June 2014 to April 2019.

Ayoh added that he used to report to Adebayo Adelabu, a former deputy governor of CBN, who is now the minister of power.

The witness said he was the head of procurement and support services (PSS) of the apex bank, which was vested with powers to receive bids and select successful bidders.

The former CBN director said he collected money from contractors as gratification of awarding contracts to them based on the instruction from Emefiele.

The witness said Emefiele usually sends his personal assistant (PA), John Adetona, to collect the contractors’ kickback from him.

Ayoh said he collected $400,000 and $200,000 in cash from contractors on two different occasions and handed them over to Emefiele’s PA.

“The first transaction was $400,000 and the second one was $200,000 in cash. I was in my house when the first envelope was brought to me. His assistant was asked to collect the money,” he told the court.

“One of the vendors had a contract with CBN which involved the implementation of data storage and infrastructure.

“The first package was collected in my residence at Lekki phase one, while the second package was collected at the head office in Lagos.”

During cross-examination by Olalekan Ojo, counsel to Emefiele, Ayoh said he was under duress from the former CBN to accept gratifications on his behalf.

“No, I was under duress from my boss (referring to Emefiele). We were faced with tremendous pressure to bend the rule,” the witness said when asked about aiding the commission of a crime by collecting the money.

Asked if he indicated in his statement with the EFCC that the money was meant to influence the award of contracts, the witness said some parts of his statement implied that.

“Who told you that it (the money) is for gratification,” Emefiele’s counsel asked.

“The cash is for gratification to the governor for awarding the contracts. He (Emefiele) asked for it. He won’t approve the contract without gratification,” the witness said.

On whether he was arrested by the EFCC, the witness said the anti-graft agency invited him and was granted bail afterwards.

Emefiele’s counsel told the court that the witness must have traded being charged by the EFCC to become a witness against the former CBN boss.

• INTERIM BAIL

After the cross-examination of the witness, Emefiele’s counsel sought a fresh interim bail for the former CBN governor, pending the fulfilment of the bail conditions earlier stipulated by the court.

Ojo told the court that the initial interim bail granted to Emefiele ended today (Monday), adding that the defence team has not been able to meet the bail conditions.

He urged the court to grant Emefiele another interim bail that would end on May 17.

Rahman Oshodi, the presiding judge, granted the request and ordered that Ojo swear to an affidavit to provide Emefiele in the next adjourned date.

Oshodi adjourned to May 3, 9, and 17 for the continuation of the trial.

Prince Harry, the Duke of Sussex, alongside his wife, Meghan, will in May visit Nigeria, the defence headquarters (DHQ) has said.

Tukur Gusau, director of defence information, made this known in a statement issued on Sunday.

According to the statement, Harry’s decision to visit Nigeria is sequel to an invitation from the DHQ and will revolve around conversations on possibilities of Nigeria hosting the Invictus Games.

The Invictus Games is an international multi-sport event. Participants include wounded, injured, and ill servicemen and women, whether serving or veterans.

It is organised by the Invictus Games Foundation founded by Harry.

The international multi-sport event also offers a recovery pathway for the affected soldiers and spotlights their rehabilitation journey.

Last year, Nigeria participated in the games for the first time. The country was the only African representative at the event, swooping gold and bronze medals along the way.

“During their stay in the country, they will be meeting with Service members and will be hosted to arrays of cultural activities,” the statement said.

“The visit is to consolidate Nigeria’s strong hold at the game and the possibility of hosting the event years later.”

Gusau said Mohammed Baduru, minister of defence, who was at the event in Germany last year, is keen on playing host should Nigeria get the nod.

The trip will also be a first for Meghan who had once said she has 43 percent Nigerian ancestry.

Additional details about the visit are expected to be made public in the coming days.

Former world boxing champion Bash Alli has been warned by Sports Minister John Enoh to retract false allegations made against him in public within a week or risk legal repercussions.

Enoh’s remarks followed Alli’s claims in an open letter to President Bola Tinubu that the minister had sought $1 million from him to support his proposal to hold what he claims is Nigeria’s oldest boxing match.

The video went viral after Tunde Onakoya broke the Guinness World Record for the longest chess marathon.

Alli claimed he could have also placed the nation’s name on the map of the world, but some people were impeding his efforts.

In response to the claim, Enoh in a statement titled ‘Bash Alli and his serial blackmail must be confronted and defeated,” warmed the boxer to tender an apology or face legal action.

He said, “I am constrained to speak to the trending video and open petition to the President wherein Bash Alli, a former World Boxing Champion, threw caution and decency to the wind to allege that I demanded the sum of ‘another ‘ $1m from him in order to endorse his plan to stage what he calls the oldest boxers fight in Nigeria.

“When Bash Alli released his video and open letter to the President, with the sole aim to defame and destroy my reputation and integrity, some friends and associates advised that I totally ignore him and his blackmail gambit. They believe that I will validate and bring him to the limelight by responding to Bash Alli and his vile campaign of calumny.

“After a deep reflection, I have come to the inevitable conclusion that to ignore him will be a profound mistake. My reason for this is twofold. First, the perception in the public domain is that those in the public service are either thieves or kleptomaniacs who mindlessly pillage our Commonwealth. This assumption, no matter how widely held, is not true.

“Despite our challenges as a nation, there are men and women who continue to serve our country with honesty, integrity, and patriotism. I am one of such.”

The minister added that ignoring Alli will further embolden and enable him to continue in his usual trajectory without consequences.

He said, “Bash Alli’s allegation that I demanded ‘another $1m’ as if I had received a first tranche of $1m from him, or perhaps any of my predecessors had done so, is a manufactured lie from the pit of hell. At no point in time did I demand any form of gratification from Bash Alli.”

The minister added that Alli was desperate to meet him upon his resumption in office but he was cautioned by his staff.

He said, “Let me be clear. Bash Alli desperately wanted to meet me in my very early days as Minister of Sports Development when I had hardly settled down on the job.

” In the deluge of his desperate attempts, I decided to meet him against the advice of the ministry staff, who were familiar with his character and antics. Against their advice, I decided to meet him out of respect for his age and based on the open-door policy with which I am currently leading the ministry.

“Bash Alli’s plan to stage his boxing fight in Nigeria has a long history spanning almost two decades. To achieve this personal aspiration, he has deployed all manner of strategies, including naked blackmail and underhand tactics in his desperate effort to arm-twist the Federal Government to spend upwards of $50m to stage his fight.

“Successive Ministers of Sports have rightly told him that his plan to stage this fight is not the responsibility of the government but a business that the private sector should execute.

“In concluding this statement, I sincerely believe that, in spite of our numerous challenges, our country still has a soul. Our humanity will be irretrievably destroyed the day we lose our soul. Bash Alli’s desperate and unprovoked withering attack on me is an attack on decency, honesty, and integrity. The move to clear my name has just started, and there will be no let up until I achieve this sacred mission.