A prosecution witness has told a Federal High Court in Abuja that he personally received $12 million in cash—money he said was facilitated by SunTrust Bank executives—for eventual transfer to the account of businesswoman Aisha Achimugu.
The revelation came during the ongoing trial of SunTrust Bank Managing Director/Chief Executive, Halima Buba, and Chief Compliance Officer, Innocent Mbagwu. Both are standing trial on a six-count charge of money laundering involving the said $12 million, brought against them by the Economic and Financial Crimes Commission (EFCC).
At the hearing on Friday before Justice Emeka Nwite, the EFCC’s first prosecution witness (PW1), a bureau de change operator, testified that between March 10 and March 24, 2025, he received the entire sum in cash from Achimugu. He also disclosed that the transactions were carried out with the involvement of SunTrust Bank’s branches in both Abuja and Lagos.
While being led in evidence by EFCC’s lead counsel, Rotimi Oyedepo (SAN), the witness noted that although he operated naira and dollar accounts with the bank, none of the money was paid through his accounts.
“All of the transactions happened outside the regular banking channels,” he stated.
The witness also revealed that he only learned of Achimugu’s arrest via social media and subsequently shared the news with the first defendant. He further recalled receiving a total of $1.8 million from Achimugu on different occasions, which he converted into naira, also outside standard banking processes.
Achimugu is reportedly the founder of Ocean Gate Energy Oil and Gas, with her corporate account maintained at Zenith Bank Plc.
During the cross-examination, the defence team, led by Johnson Usman (SAN), attempted to submit several documents, including copies of the charge sheet, statements made outside the court by the defendants and witnesses, a certificate of identification, and official correspondence between SunTrust Bank and the EFCC.
However, the prosecution objected, arguing that the documents were not Certified True Copies (CTCs) as required by law. Oyedepo pointed out that certain documents—from pages 10 to 12—could only be certified by EFCC personnel. Pages 13 to 31, he said, contained a letter from SunTrust Bank forwarding Achimugu’s bank statements and account opening documents to the EFCC, and thus also needed EFCC certification.
Further objecting, Oyedepo explained that pages 32 to 83 included extra-judicial statements from the accused and other witnesses, which, under Section 232 of the Evidence Act, can only be properly admitted if the conditions stated in the Act are met.
He added that pages 84 to 181 had already been marked as Exhibit P1, but emphasized that the relevant pages lacked compliance with Section 104 of the Evidence Act. “There is no name of the certifying officer, no designation, and no proof that certification fees were paid,” he said.
He concluded by warning that admitting such documents without proper certification would essentially require the judge to take on the role of a forensic examiner. He urged the court to reject them outright.
Following the arguments, Justice Emeka Nwite adjourned the case to October 16 and 17, 2025. These dates will allow the court to rule on whether the contested documents are admissible and to continue with the cross-examination of the witness.
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