The Director of Public Prosecution (DPP), Rotimi Oyedepo, has said that the former Secretary to the Government of the Federation, Boss Mustapha and all individuals implicated alongside former Central Bank of Nigeria (CBN) governor Godwin Emefiele in the alleged theft of $6.23 million from the CBN’s Abuja branch will be prosecuted.
Those implicated in the case included former Secretary to the Government of the Federation (SGF) Boss Mustapha, Emefiele’s former personal assistant Eric Odoh, his driver and gatekeeper Emmanuel Odeh Dickson, Jibril Abubakar, the Abuja CBN Branch Controller, Bashirudeen Maishanu, and several others.
Oyedepo made the statement in court in response to testimony from the federal government’s star witness and Special Investigator, Jim Obazee, at the Abuja High Court last week.
Obazee, appointed by President Bola Tinubu in July 2023 to investigate alleged malfeasance at the CBN and related entities, uncovered the $6.23 million theft that led to Emefiele’s ongoing trial.
Testifying before Justice Hamza Muazu, Obazee questioned why only Emefiele was being prosecuted despite evidence allegedly linking over ten individuals to the fraud.
Obazee criticised what he described as selective prosecution, insisting that all those allegedly involved should be held accountable. He revealed that £856,500 had already been recovered from Maishanu, who reportedly confessed to diverting part of the funds, further implicating multiple parties.
Obazee also told the court that Boss Mustapha did not deny signing the letter that authorised the release of the funds.
“I asked Boss Mustapha if he wrote a handover note when he was leaving office, and he said yes. I asked whether the $6.23 million issue was mentioned in his handover note, since the account from which the money was stolen is attached to the SGF’s office, but he could not answer. I also asked for the list of foreign observers who collected the money, but the SGF could not provide the list,” Obazee testified.
He further questioned why Mustapha and others, including the late President Muhammadu Buhari—who allegedly authorised the payment—had not been charged.
Obazee argued that prosecuting all implicated individuals would act as a deterrent against corruption and reinforce public trust in the justice system. He also urged that the names of deceased individuals involved in the case be officially recorded in court proceedings.
Following the testimonies and submissions, Justice Hamza Muazu adjourned the case until October 20, 2026, for continuation of the trial.
