{"id":20038,"date":"2024-02-14T10:12:11","date_gmt":"2024-02-14T15:12:11","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/newssprinters.com\/index.php\/world\/nigerian-ex-president-muhammadu-buharis-signature-forged-to-withdraw-6m-court-hears\/14\/02\/2024\/"},"modified":"2024-02-14T10:12:11","modified_gmt":"2024-02-14T15:12:11","slug":"nigerian-ex-president-muhammadu-buharis-signature-forged-to-withdraw-6m-court-hears","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/newssprinters.com\/index.php\/world\/nigerian-ex-president-muhammadu-buharis-signature-forged-to-withdraw-6m-court-hears\/14\/02\/2024\/","title":{"rendered":"Nigerian ex-President Muhammadu Buhari&#8217;s signature forged to withdraw $6m, court hears"},"content":{"rendered":"<p>\n<\/p>\n<div>\n<p>Nigeria is seeking Interpol&#8217;s help to arrest three suspects who allegedly stole $6.2m (\u00a34.9m) from the central bank, using the forged signature of then President <span class=\"caas-xray-inline-tooltip\"><span class=\"caas-xray-inline caas-xray-entity caas-xray-pill rapid-nonanchor-lt\" data-entity-id=\"Muhammadu_Buhari\" data-ylk=\"cid:Muhammadu_Buhari;pos:2;elmt:wiki;sec:pill-inline-entity;elm:pill-inline-text;itc:1;cat:OfficeHolder;\" tabindex=\"0\" aria-haspopup=\"dialog\"><a href=\"https:\/\/search.yahoo.com\/search?p=Muhammadu%20Buhari\" data-i13n=\"cid:Muhammadu_Buhari;pos:2;elmt:wiki;sec:pill-inline-entity;elm:pill-inline-text;itc:1;cat:OfficeHolder;\" tabindex=\"-1\" data-ylk=\"slk:Muhammadu Buhari;cid:Muhammadu_Buhari;pos:2;elmt:wiki;sec:pill-inline-entity;elm:pill-inline-text;itc:1;cat:OfficeHolder;\" class=\"link \" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener nofollow\">Muhammadu Buhari<\/a><\/span><\/span>.<\/p>\n<p>Authorities believe that the suspects conspired with Nigeria&#8217;s former central bank chief Godwin Emefiele.<\/p>\n<p>He is already on trial on 20 charges, including illegally receiving the $6.2m.<\/p>\n<p>Mr Emefiele has denied all the charges, and is currently out on bail.<\/p>\n<p>He is the most high-profile former official to be charged with corruption since <span class=\"caas-xray-inline-tooltip\"><span class=\"caas-xray-inline caas-xray-entity caas-xray-pill rapid-nonanchor-lt\" data-entity-id=\"Bola_Tinubu\" data-ylk=\"cid:Bola_Tinubu;pos:3;elmt:wiki;sec:pill-inline-entity;elm:pill-inline-text;itc:1;cat:OfficeHolder;\" tabindex=\"0\" aria-haspopup=\"dialog\"><a href=\"https:\/\/search.yahoo.com\/search?p=Bola%20Tinubu\" data-i13n=\"cid:Bola_Tinubu;pos:3;elmt:wiki;sec:pill-inline-entity;elm:pill-inline-text;itc:1;cat:OfficeHolder;\" tabindex=\"-1\" data-ylk=\"slk:President Bola Tinubu;cid:Bola_Tinubu;pos:3;elmt:wiki;sec:pill-inline-entity;elm:pill-inline-text;itc:1;cat:OfficeHolder;\" class=\"link \" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener nofollow\">President Bola Tinubu<\/a><\/span><\/span> took office last May.<\/p>\n<p>Prosecutors also allege that Mr Emefiele unlawfully authorised the release of the money from the central bank vault.<\/p>\n<p>In a statement last December, he described the allegations as &#8220;barefaced lies told by the investigator in order to achieve his satanic agenda&#8221;. He called for a &#8220;thorough and transparent investigation&#8221;.<\/p>\n<p>Mr Emefiele&#8217;s alleged accomplices have been named as Adamu Abubakar, Imam Abubakar and Odoh Ocheme, a former central bank employee, the state-owned News Agency of Nigeria reported.<\/p>\n<p>The suspects are believed to have left Nigeria, prompting the authorities to seek Interpol&#8217;s help with their arrest and repatriation, the agency added.<\/p>\n<p>None of the three suspects have commented on the allegations against them.<\/p>\n<figure class=\"caas-figure\">\n<div class=\"caas-figure-with-pb\" style=\"max-height: 540px\">\n<div>\n<div class=\"caas-img-container caas-img-lightbox caas-img-loader\" style=\"padding-bottom:56%\" data-lightbox-src=\"https:\/\/s.yimg.com\/ny\/api\/res\/1.2\/fup9OPw8Tejjkx7NmNl0BQ--\/YXBwaWQ9aGlnaGxhbmRlcjt3PTE5NTI7aD0xMDk4\/https:\/\/media.zenfs.com\/en\/bbc_us_articles_995\/82b83e6556f38b0f9d6936b79676627a\"><span class=\"caas-img-wrapper\"><img decoding=\"async\" alt=\"Muhammadu Buhari\" src=\"https:\/\/s.yimg.com\/ny\/api\/res\/1.2\/L0wuMPjYBeZnGmIOb9s88Q--\/YXBwaWQ9aGlnaGxhbmRlcjt3PTk2MDtoPTU0MA--\/https:\/\/media.zenfs.com\/en\/bbc_us_articles_995\/82b83e6556f38b0f9d6936b79676627a\" class=\"caas-img\"\/><button class=\"link caas-lightbox\" aria-label=\"View larger image\" data-ylk=\"sec:image-lightbox;slk:lightbox-open;elm:expand;itc:1\"><span class=\"openArrows icon\"><svg width=\"22\" height=\"22\" viewbox=\"0 0 22 22\"><path d=\"M12.372 0.92C12.372 0.414 12.782 0.004 13.287 0.004L21 0L20.996 7.712C20.996 8.217 20.586 8.628 20.08 8.628C19.574 8.628 19.164 8.217 19.164 7.712V3.183L12.337 10.011L10.988 8.663L17.816 1.835H13.287C12.782 1.835 12.372 1.425 12.372 0.92ZM1.835 17.816L8.663 10.988L10.012 12.337L3.183 19.164H7.712C8.218 19.164 8.627 19.574 8.627 20.08C8.627 20.586 8.218 20.995 7.712 20.995L0 21L0.004 13.287C0.004 12.782 0.414 12.372 0.92 12.372C1.425 12.372 1.835 12.782 1.835 13.287V17.816Z\"\/><\/svg><\/span><\/button><\/span><\/div>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n<p><figcaption class=\"caption-collapse\">The alleged theft took place several months before Muhammadu Buhari stepped down as president<\/figcaption><\/p>\n<\/figure>\n<p>The government ordered their arrest late on Tuesday, hours after Boss Mustapha, a senior official in ex-President Buhari&#8217;s administration, testified in Mr Emefiele&#8217;s trial.<\/p>\n<p>Mr Mustapha told the court in the capital, Abuja, that neither he nor Mr Buhari had given their signatures to approve the withdrawal of the $6.2m.<\/p>\n<p>&#8220;Looking at the signature, it is a faint attempt at reproducing [former] President Buhari&#8217;s signature,&#8221; Mr Mustapha was quoted as telling the court by the Nation newspaper.<\/p>\n<p>When shown the document used to withdraw the funds, Mr Mustapha said it &#8220;did not emanate from the office of the president&#8221;, the newspaper added.<\/p>\n<p>The funds were withdrawn in cash in January last year, a few months before Mr Buhari&#8217;s term ended.<\/p>\n<p>Prosecutors allege that Mr Emefiele falsified the document in question, which requested the central bank to issue the funds so that Mr Buhari could use them to pay foreign election observers.<\/p>\n<p>Mr Emefiele was appointed as central bank governor in 2014 by then-President Goodluck Jonathan, with Mr Buhari reappointing him in 2019. He held the post until Mr Tinubu took office.<\/p>\n<h3>More Nigeria stories from the BBC:<\/h3>\n<p><img alt=\"\" height=\"1\" width=\"1\" style=\"display:block\" class=\"lazyload\" data-sizes=\"auto\" data-srcset=\"https:\/\/i1.wp.com\/a1.api.bbc.co.uk\/hit.xiti\/?w=75&resize=75 75w, https:\/\/i1.wp.com\/a1.api.bbc.co.uk\/hit.xiti\/?w=100&resize=100 100w, https:\/\/i1.wp.com\/a1.api.bbc.co.uk\/hit.xiti\/?w=150&resize=150 150w, https:\/\/i1.wp.com\/a1.api.bbc.co.uk\/hit.xiti\/?w=240&resize=240 240w, https:\/\/i1.wp.com\/a1.api.bbc.co.uk\/hit.xiti\/?w=320&resize=320 320w, https:\/\/i1.wp.com\/a1.api.bbc.co.uk\/hit.xiti\/?w=500&resize=500 500w, https:\/\/i1.wp.com\/a1.api.bbc.co.uk\/hit.xiti\/?w=640&resize=640 640w, https:\/\/i1.wp.com\/a1.api.bbc.co.uk\/hit.xiti\/?w=800&resize=800 800w, https:\/\/i1.wp.com\/a1.api.bbc.co.uk\/hit.xiti\/?w=1024&resize=1024 1024w, https:\/\/i1.wp.com\/a1.api.bbc.co.uk\/hit.xiti\/?w=1280&resize=1280 1280w, https:\/\/i1.wp.com\/a1.api.bbc.co.uk\/hit.xiti\/?w=1600&resize=1600 1600w\" data-src=\"https:\/\/i1.wp.com\/a1.api.bbc.co.uk\/hit.xiti\/\"\/><\/div>\n<p><a href=\"https:\/\/news.yahoo.com\/nigerian-ex-president-muhammadu-buharis-141556504.html\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener nofollow\">Source link <\/a><\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"<p>Nigeria is seeking Interpol&rsquo;s help to arrest three suspects who allegedly stole $6.2m (&pound;4.9m) from the central bank, using the forged signature<br \/><button class=\"read-more\"><a href=\"https:\/\/newssprinters.com\/index.php\/world\/nigerian-ex-president-muhammadu-buharis-signature-forged-to-withdraw-6m-court-hears\/14\/02\/2024\/\">Read More &rsaquo;<\/a><\/button><\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":20040,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"_seopress_robots_primary_cat":"","_seopress_titles_title":"","_seopress_titles_desc":"","_seopress_robots_index":"","footnotes":""},"categories":[2],"tags":[],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/newssprinters.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/20038"}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/newssprinters.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/newssprinters.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/newssprinters.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/1"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/newssprinters.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=20038"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/newssprinters.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/20038\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/newssprinters.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/20040"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/newssprinters.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=20038"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/newssprinters.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=20038"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/newssprinters.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=20038"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}