Ex-Aide to Emefiele Denies Involvement in Alleged $6.2m CBN Fraud

• Eric Odoh Ocheme, former Personal Assistant to the ex-CBN Governor, denies involvement in the alleged $6.2 million apex bank forgery
• Expressing dismay at being linked to the fraud, Ocheme questions why his name is associated with the case

Eric Odoh Ocheme, former Personal Assistant to the immediate-past Governor of the Central Bank of Nigeria (CBN), Godwin Emefiele, has vehemently denied any involvement in the alleged forgery of signatures for the withdrawal of $6.2 million from the apex bank to pay 2023 election observers.

In response to the Federal Government’s request for INTERPOL to place him and two other unnamed suspects on its red notice, Ocheme expressed his dismay at being linked to the purported fraud.

Ocheme, a former CBN staff member, emphasized that his role as a Personal Assistant did not entail involvement in the financial transactions of the apex bank. He questioned why his name was associated with the case, reiterating his innocence.

Regarding the letter from the Special Investigator appointed by President Bola Tinubu to probe fraud cases within the Emefiele-led CBN, Ocheme expressed doubt about the identity of the individuals he was allegedly involved with. He raised concerns about the lack of information regarding Adamu Abubakar and Imam Abubakar, the other two suspects mentioned in the letter.

Ocheme, who doubted the real identity of the people he has been tagged along with and placed on INTERPOL’s red alert, queried why only his photograph was displayed in the media.

“I was the PA to the governor. I don’t get involved in any payment process. I don’t know all those people who claim we forged the signatures together. Who really are Adamu Abubakar and Imam Abubakar?”

“Why am I the only one whose face and picture is being paraded in the media space? Do the other two people I’m being put on the Interpol list with exist? Who are they?

“Is it a crime to be an aid to a senior government official? They never found a dime of such illegal funds in my account. Why is my name being dragged everywhere?”