ALLEGED $4.5BN FRAUD: COURT RESERVES RULING ON ADMISSIBILITY OF EMEFIELE'S STATEMENTS UNTIL JULY 9

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By Aishat Momoh. O.

The Special Offences Court sitting in Ikeja, Lagos, has reserved ruling until July 9, 2026, on the admissibility of extra-judicial statements allegedly made by former Governor of the Central Bank of Nigeria (CBN), Godwin Emefiele, in his ongoing trial over an alleged $4.5 billion fraud.

Justice Rahman Oshodi fixed the date after hearing arguments from both the prosecution and the defence on whether the statements sought to be tendered by the Economic and Financial Crimes Commission (EFCC) were voluntarily made.

Emefiele is standing trial alongside Henry Omoile on a 19-count charge bordering on receiving gratification and making corrupt demands during his tenure as CBN Governor. Omoile is facing a separate three-count charge for the alleged unlawful acceptance of gifts by an agent. Both defendants have pleaded not guilty.

At Friday’s proceedings, counsel to the first defendant, Olalekan Ojo, SAN, challenged the admissibility of the statements, arguing that they were obtained through oppression and physical and mental torture while his client was allegedly detained by the Department of State Services (DSS) for more than 157 days.

Relying on the provisions of the Anti-Torture Act, 2017, and relevant sections of the Evidence Act, Ojo submitted that the statements were involuntary and should be rejected by the court.

“The issue before this Honourable Court is whether the statements credited to the first defendant were made voluntarily,” he argued.

The senior advocate further contended that where the voluntariness of a statement is disputed, a video recording of the interrogation remains the most credible evidence of compliance with due process.

According to him, the prosecution failed to produce such recordings or any independent evidence to support the alleged statements, while also questioning the role of the legal practitioner said to have witnessed the interviews.

He urged the court to resolve any doubt in favour of the defendant by rejecting the statements.

In response, the Director of Public Prosecutions of the Federation, Rotimi Oyedepo, SAN, who appeared with Bilikisu Buhari and C. C. Okezie, called the prosecution’s eighth witness, EFCC investigator Alvan Gurumnaan.

The witness told the court that Emefiele honoured the EFCC’s invitation voluntarily and that all interviews were conducted in the presence of his legal representative.

He disclosed that the prosecution had voluntarily withdrawn Emefiele’s statement dated October 26, 2023, but sought to tender statements made on October 27, October 30, November 1 and November 2, 2023, as exhibits.

“If the defence does not want that statement, we are prepared to withdraw it. We are withdrawing it not because it was obtained through torture or oppression,” the witness said.

Oyedepo argued that there was no legal basis for conducting a trial-within-trial, maintaining that none of the remaining statements amounted to a confession.

“There is nothing in the defendant’s statements that can be construed as an admission of the facts in issue,” he submitted.

He further argued that the Anti-Torture Act does not make a trial-within-trial mandatory in the circumstances and urged the court to dismiss the defence’s objection and allow the substantive trial to continue.

Earlier in the proceedings, counsel to the second defendant, Adeyinka Kotoye, SAN, informed the court of a pending application seeking leave to appeal an earlier ruling.

The prosecution raised no objection to the application, following which Justice Oshodi granted the request.

“I hereby grant the second defendant leave to appeal the ruling of the court,” the judge held.

Justice Oshodi subsequently adjourned the case until July 9, 2026, for ruling on the admissibility of the extra-judicial statements.

The court also fixed October 6, 7 and 8, as well as November 11, 12 and 13, 2026, for the continuation of the substantive trial.