Nigeria Seeks Interpol's Help to Apprehend Suspects in $6.2 Million Central Bank Theft

Nigeria is seeking Interpol's assistance in apprehending three suspects accused of stealing $6.2 million (£4.9 million) from the central bank, using the forged signature of then-President Muhammadu Buhari.

Authorities suspect that the individuals conspired with Nigeria's former central bank chief, Godwin Emefiele.

Emefiele is currently on trial for 20 charges, including illegally receiving the $6.2 million.

Mr. Emefiele has denied all charges and is presently out on bail.

He is the most high-profile former official to face corruption charges since President Bola Tinubu took office last May.

Prosecutors also allege that Mr. Emefiele unlawfully authorized the release of the money from the central bank vault.

In a statement last December, he dismissed the allegations as "barefaced lies told by the investigator in order to achieve his satanic agenda" and called for a "thorough and transparent investigation."

Mr. Emefiele's alleged accomplices have been identified as Adamu Abubakar, Imam Abubakar, and Odoh Ocheme, a former central bank employee, according to the state-owned News Agency of Nigeria.

The suspects are believed to have fled Nigeria, prompting authorities to seek Interpol's assistance in their arrest and extradition, the agency added.

None of the three suspects has responded to the allegations against them.

The government issued their arrest warrants late on Tuesday, following testimony from Boss Mustapha, a senior official in former President Buhari's administration, in Mr. Emefiele's trial.

Mr. Mustapha informed the court in the capital, Abuja, that neither he nor Mr. Buhari had authorized the withdrawal of the $6.2 million.

"Looking at the signature, it is a faint attempt at reproducing [former] President Buhari's signature," Mr. Mustapha told the court, as reported by the Nation newspaper.

When presented with the document used to withdraw the funds, Mr. Mustapha stated it "did not emanate from the office of the president," the newspaper added.

The funds were withdrawn in cash in January last year, a few months before Mr. Buhari's term ended.

Prosecutors allege that Mr. Emefiele falsified the document, which requested the central bank to issue the funds for Mr. Buhari to pay foreign election observers.

Mr. Emefiele was appointed as central bank governor in 2014 by then-President Goodluck Jonathan, and he was reappointed by Mr. Buhari in 2019. He held the post until Mr. Tinubu took