An Assistant Manager with Zenith Bank Plc, Mrs Ifeoma Ogbonnaya, has revealed that the embattled Central Bank of Nigeria (CBN) Governor Godwin Emefiele and his wife,Margaret were not signatories to the accounts alleged to have owned by them.
Ogbonnaya, who said this while being cross-examined by Emefiele’s Counsel, Mr Olalekan Ojo (SAN) also told the court that she had Bachelor Degree in Archaeology and Tourism from University of Nigeria.
She said neither the embattled former governor nor his wife were signatory to the three accounts namely Limelight multidimensional Ltd, Come support services Ltd and Ambswin resources Ltd.
According to her, the signatory to the accounts is one Mrs Augustina.
She, however, told the court that the transaction would not be processed until it was approved by Mrs Emefiele.
The witness said: “l still maintain that
Mrs Margaret Emefiele gave me instructions through phone calls, whatapp chat and my official email.
“I saved Mrs Emefiele’s number as ‘margo’ on my phone and she has several numbers but I can only remember her foreign number which is +447941835451.
“The phone numbers are saved on my mobile device, IPhone 11 which are for my contact, both personal and official.
The witness further told the court that instructions to banks are not oral but in writing and before she came to court to give evidence, she has had opportunity to review the account opening of the three companies.
Ogbonnaya reiterated that Emefiele’s name and his wife’s did not appear as shareholders or signatories to the corporate accounts of the companies.
According to her: “I did not come across any document
in the account opening package that Mrs Emefiele is a direct beneficial owner of the corporate accounts of the companies.
“There is a regulatory requirements on the collection of information on beneficial owners of a corporate account.
“There is a Know Your Customer (KYC) platform through which banks collect information on the beneficial owner of an account but I was not involved at the initial opening of the account.
“When the former relationship officer left, I continued the relationship based on what the previous relationship officer has been managing them with.”
The witness also said KYC was before the court and that financing risk assessment formed part of KYC.
She also confirmed to the court that in the running of the business of banking, Zenith Banks followed guidelines as regards deposit and withdrawal funds.
She also told the court that there was no relationship between Emefiele and the companies.
Justice Oshodi adjourned further trial to the 28th, 30th, and 31st of October respectively.
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