A witness has testified in court that the former Central Bank of Nigeria (CBN) Governor, Godwin Emefiele, allegedly used proxies to acquire properties worth billions of naira. The testimony further suggested that Emefiele used his office to manipulate the nation’s foreign exchange system, creating a bottleneck that disadvantaged businesses and ordinary Nigerians.
The court heard that the former central bank chief allegedly designed a system that intentionally restricted access to foreign currency. According to the witness, this scarcity was leveraged to force applicants into seeking “special arrangements” to secure much-needed forex, benefiting a select group of individuals.
These claims were made during testimony regarding the alleged acquisition of multi-billion naira properties through proxies, adding a new dimension to the ongoing legal proceedings against the former governor.
Allegations of foreign exchange manipulation
The witness claimed that the difficulty encountered by businesses in accessing foreign exchange was not merely an economic byproduct of market pressures but a systemic issue. By limiting the availability of dollars through official channels, Emefiele allegedly created a vacuum that allowed for “special arrangements” to take place, providing a pathway for preferred applicants to bypass standard procedures.
This alleged manipulation has direct implications for the Nigerian economy. For much of Emefiele’s tenure, the manufacturing and import sectors struggled with severe foreign exchange shortages. These shortages contributed to increased production costs, heightened inflation, and the eventual closure of several industrial firms that could no longer sustain operations due to the cost of sourcing currency on the parallel market.
Emefiele, who was suspended from his role as CBN Governor in 2023, faces a series of charges involving financial irregularities and economic sabotage. The current testimony regarding property ownership through proxies points toward a wider investigation into how the former governor may have amassed personal wealth during his leadership of the apex bank.
The prosecution’s focus on the use of proxies suggests an effort to uncover hidden assets that may have been moved through various intermediaries to avoid regulatory detection. This investigation is part of a broader effort by the current administration to identify and recover assets allegedly diverted from public institutions.
The period under investigation saw significant volatility in the naira’s value and a tightening of liquidity in the official forex market. For many Nigerian importers, the inability to access dollars via the Central Bank necessitated a reliance on more expensive unofficial channels, which severely impacted profit margins and overall economic stability.
The trial remains ongoing, with the court expected to hear further evidence concerning the financial transactions and property deeds linked to these allegations. Emefiele’s legal team has consistently contested the charges, maintaining his innocence throughout the proceedings.
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