BY ANTHONY OCHELA, ABUJA
Witness at the ongoing trial of a former Governor, Central Bank of Nigeria, CBN, Mr Godwin Emefiele, told the Federal Capital Territory, FCT, High Court that the currency notes minted were different from the design approved by former President Muhammadu Buhari.
The witness and former Director of Currency Operations at the CBN, Ahmed Umar, explained that Buhari’s approved design included specific features such as a QR code and the portrait positioned on the right.
However, the notes implemented under Emefiele’s direction did not include these elements and featured a different numbering style.
However, Umar said the president’s approval was for the redesign of the naira notes to be locally produced.
Under cross examination by the counsel to Emefiele, Mahmoud Magaji, SAN, Umar admitted that former President Buhari actually gave approval to the naira redesign project.
He also admitted that Buhari on December 29, 2023, publicly launched the re-designed naira currency for the use of Nigerians as legal tender.
The witness also admitted that the re-designed currency has his own signature as Director of Currency Operations, adding that no currency becomes legal tender without his own signature.
Another witness, the Managing Director of Nigeria Printing and Minting Company, Ahmed Halilu provided critical testimony regarding the redesign of the currency.
He revealed that in October 2022, the then CBN governor informed him of a presidential approval for the redesign of N100, N200 and N500 notes, emphasizing the necessity of local production to align with domestic capabilities.
During a meeting at the CBN governor’s office, Halilu was given a preliminary paper design of the new notes. He suggested that his team review the design and return with a proposal, highlighting significant changes needed at the substrate and printing levels, such as the numbering system, QR codes and watermark positioning.
Halilu and his team recommended involving De La Rue, a UK-based company and the original designer of Nigeria’s currency, to ensure that the redesign meets the necessary security standards and production capabilities. De La Rue’s engagement was crucial due to the complex security features required to prevent counterfeiting, including QR codes for youth engagement and enhanced watermarking.
Despite their efforts, Halilu confirmed that the initial samples produced by his team did not match Exhibit E, the series presented in court. The redesigned notes by De La Rue lacked the QR codes initially proposed. After it completed the redesign, the samples were submitted to the CBN governor for approval, which was granted on October 19, 2022. The approved notes were later produced and admitted as Exhibit F and H in court.
The managing director disclosed that De La Rue was paid £205,000 by the CBN for their services, but he was uncertain whether the president had specifically approved this payment. The witness verified that the series FGH and J notes presented in court matched the notes produced, following the redesign.
This testimony underscores the complexities and challenges faced in the currency redesign process, emphasizing the need for local capacity considerations and international expertise.
The Economic and Financial Crimes Commission, EFCC, had on May 15, arraigned Emefiele on a four-count charge before Justice Maryanne Anenih of the High Court of the Federal Capital Territory sitting in Maitama.
Emefiele, however, denied the charge and was admitted to bail in the sum of N300 million.
In the four-count charge, the anti-graft agency claimed that Emefiele embarked on the naira redesign without the approval of the Board of the CBN, as well as the then president.
Specifically, the EFCC accused Emefiele of approving the printing of various quantities of the new naira notes “without the recommendation of the Board of the Central Bank and the strict approval of the president which conduct of yours caused injury to the public and you thereby committed an offence”.
While in count one he was accused of approving the printing of 375,520,000 notes at the cost of N11 billion, in count two he was accused of approving the printing of 172 million coloured swapped N500 notes at the cost of N4.4 billion.
Also in count three, the former CBN boss was alleged to have approved for printing, 137,070 pieces of coloured N200 notes at the cost of N3.4 billion.
He was however in count four alleged to have withdrawn N124, 860, 227 from the Consolidated Revenue Fund of the Federation in a manner not prescribed by the National Assembly.
