Three Nigerian suspects are currently on the run for allegedly stealing $6.2m (£4.9m) from the central bank by forging the signature of then President Muhammadu Buhari.
Nigeria has appealed to Interpol, an international crime police organization to assist in arresting these suspects.
According to a report by the state-owned News Agency of Nigeria, the alleged accomplices are; Adamu Abubakar, Imam Abubakar, and former central bank employee Odoh Ocheme.
They are believed to have fled Nigeria prompting the authorities to seek Interpol’s help with their arrest and repatriation, the State News agency said.
None of the three suspects have commented on the allegations against them.
Authorities believe Nigeria’s former central bank chief Godwin Emefiele may have conspired with the suspects to siphon the cash.
Since May last year, Mr. Emefiele has been on trial for corruption-related offences – 20 corruption charges. The latest include assertions of illegally receiving the $6.2m.
The former central bank chief has however, denied all the charges against him and has been released on bail.
Emefiele has also vehemently denied allegations that he authorized the release of the stolen cash from the central bank’s vault.
He said these allegations are mere fabrications aimed at tarnishing his reputation.
In a statement last December, he described the allegations as “barefaced lies told by the investigator in order to achieve his satanic agenda”. He called for a “thorough and transparent investigation”.
The alleged theft took place several months before Muhammadu Buhari stepped down as president.
The Nigerian government after hearing a testimony from Boss Mustapha, a senior official in ex-President Buhari’s administration in Mr Emefiele’s trial, ordered the arrest of the suspects late on Tuesday.
During his testimony Mr Mustapha told the court in the capital, Abuja, that the cash was withdrawn without his approval nor Mr Buhari’s consent.
“Looking at the signature, it is a faint attempt at reproducing [former] President Buhari’s signature,” Mr Mustapha was quoted as telling the court by the Nation newspaper.
When shown the document used to withdraw the funds, Mr Mustapha said it “did not emanate from the office of the president”, the newspaper added.
The stolen funds were withdrawn in cash in January last year, a few months before Mr Buhari left office.
Prosecutors have alleged that the documents used to issue the funds were falsified by Emefiele so that the Central bank could withdraw the cash for Mr Buhari to use them to pay foreign election observers.
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.