The witness indicated that during a meeting with Godwin Emefiele, he became aware of the underlying intrigues and political dynamics involved in the naira redesign initiative.

Folashodun Shonubi, a former Acting Governor of the Central Bank of Nigeria (CBN), stated that he discovered these complexities related to the naira redesign exercise conducted in 2022.

At the time, Shonubi served as the Deputy Governor (Operations) before his subsequent appointment as Acting Governor.

He recounted that Emefiele had informed him and others about the political maneuvering surrounding the entire process.

Now retired, Shonubi is the third witness for the prosecution in the trial of Emefiele, who is facing charges brought by the Economic and Financial Crimes Commission (EFCC) in the High Court of the Federal Capital Territory (FCT).

These charges include disobedience to legal directives and actions that allegedly harmed the public in relation to the naira redesign.

In response to a question from Emefiele’s attorney, Olalekan Ojo, regarding his awareness of the political aspects of the redesign, Shonubi admitted that he was initially unaware but learned from Emefiele that such intrigues existed.

However, he did not specify what those intrigues entailed.

When questioned about whether there was presidential approval for the redesign, Shonubi noted that Emefiele had presented a document bearing the president's signature during a meeting of the CBN’s Committee of Governors (COG).

Nonetheless, he remarked that the outcomes of the naira redesign under Emefiele differed from what had been approved by President Bola Buhari.

He confirmed that the redesigned naira notes were officially launched by President Buhari and stated that he was not aware of any letter from the president expressing dissatisfaction with the redesign process.

The witness indicated that he had not encountered any correspondence from either the Committee of Governors (COG) or the board of the Central Bank of Nigeria (CBN) expressing opposition to or disapproval of the president's endorsement of the currency redesign initiative.

When asked if he was aware of the discussions that took place between President Buhari and Emefiele regarding the naira redesign, the witness responded negatively.

Shonubi stated that he was not informed about any verbal exchanges between the defendant and the former president concerning the naira redesign process, asserting that only the defendant was engaged in discussions with the president on this matter.

He confirmed that he had been summoned once by the Economic and Financial Crimes Commission (EFCC) regarding the case and had provided statements.

However, he noted that there was no direct confrontation between him and the defendant concerning the content of his statements related to the defendant.

During his testimony led by prosecuting attorney Rotimi Oyedepo, the witness stated that the redesigned naira notes issued by the CBN under Emefiele did not align with what had been approved by the President.

He explained that the memorandum submitted to the president for the currency redesign was exclusively drafted by Emefiele and forwarded to the president.

Shonubi asserted that the CBN, under Emefiele's leadership, did not adhere to the established protocols for currency redesign.

He elaborated that the standard procedure required the Currency Management Department of the CBN to propose the necessity for a currency redesign, followed by a submission to the COG for evaluation.

Upon receiving approval from the COG, the CBN Board would then recommend the initiative to the President of Nigeria.

After obtaining the President's approval, the bank would establish an internal committee to carry out the currency redesign process.

Shonubi, a Deputy Governor, informed the court that he served on both the COG and CBN Board, and stated that Emefiele had dismissed a recommendation put forth by the bank’s Currency Department in early 2021.

Justice Maryanne Anenih then postponed the case until October 9 for additional proceedings.