COURT TO RULE THURSDAY ON EFCC DIGITAL EVIDENCE IN EMEFIELE’S TRIAL

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By Aishat Momoh. O.

The Economic and Financial Crimes Commission (EFCC) has intensified its case against the former Governor of the Central Bank of Nigeria (CBN), Godwin Emefiele, as the Lagos State Special Offences Court, Ikeja, presided over by Justice Rahman Oshodi, fixed Thursday, October 9, 2025, to rule on the admissibility of crucial digital evidence tendered by the prosecution.

Emefiele and his co-defendant, Henry Omoile, are standing trial on a 19-count charge of alleged fraud brought against them by the EFCC.

The adjournment came after a heated exchange between prosecution and defence teams over the authenticity and certification of documents extracted from the phone of a former Executive Assistant to the ex-CBN governor.

During Tuesday’s proceedings, EFCC counsel, Rotimi Oyedepo (SAN), led the testimony of an EFCC operative, Alvan Gurumnaan, who revealed a digital trail linking key individuals in the alleged fraud.

The evidence included WhatsApp conversations, in which the acronym “PCS” was explained to mean a $1,000 unit. Gurumnaan told the court that messages exchanged between the aide, John Adetola, and one Eric Eboh, instructed the delivery of $400,000 “for Oga,” allegedly referring to Emefiele.

He added that Adetola confirmed receiving and delivering the money, while EFCC’s efforts to locate and question Eboh were ongoing.

While some of the documents dated February 2024 were admitted without objection, the defence strongly opposed the admissibility of other digital extracts from Adetola’s phone. Defence counsels, Olalekan Ojo (SAN) and Kazeem Gbadamosi (SAN), argued that the documents were not properly certified as required under Section 84 of the Evidence Act.

They contended that since the documents were generated by EFCC and not Adetola, they must be tendered as certified true copies to be admissible.

However, Oyedepo countered, insisting the evidence was primary and required no additional certification. He argued that the handwritten notes objected to by the defence did not alter the content and were relevant to counts 18 to 20 of the charge.

Justice Oshodi adjourned the matter to Thursday for a ruling on whether the digital evidence will be admitted in the trial.