$4.5 billion fraud: Court admits WhatsApp conversation as evidence against Emefiele

The Special Offenses Court in Ikeja, Lagos State, has admitted into evidence the WhatsApp conversation accusing former Central Bank of Nigeria (CBN) governor, Godwin Emefiele, of $4.5 billion fraud and abuse of office.

The presiding judge, Justice Rahman Oshodi, overruled defense objections and admitted the WhatsApp conversation presented by the Economic and Financial Crimes Commission (EFCC) into evidence.

Justice Oshodi admitted and labeled the documents as exhibit “G” on Thursday, October 9, 2025.

The court also admitted some phones into evidence.

Emefiele faces a 19-count charge bordering on receiving gratification and bribery demands.

His co-accused, Henry Omoile, is facing three charges of illegally accepting gifts from officers.

The charges involved alleged transactions amounting to $4.5 billion and $2.8 billion.

EFCC Lawyer, Rotimi Oyedepo (SAN), continued with the testimony of Alvan Grumnaan, who provided other new insights into the evidence discovered during the investigation.

Grumnaan continued his testimony by reading the Whatsapp conversation between Omoile telling John Adetola in Exhibit G that he should give $400,000 to “oga” (Emefiele).

He said: “During our investigation we asked him for clarification, he explained that there is a conversation between him and Omoile on the phone about meeting Ikechukwu-Ayoh to raise $400,000 on behalf of Emefiele.

“John Adetola confirmed that he went to Lekki in Lagos where he met John Ikechukwu-Ayoh, a personal assistant to the CBN governor to hand over the money.

“We further asked him what the message was. He confirmed that it was $400,000 and went to the CBN office in Lagos where he handed it over to Emefiele in the CBN office.

“We called Ikechukwu-Ayoh who was working at CBN at the time to report to our office in Lagos where he was interviewed.”

The witness further told the court that Ikechukwu-Ayoh confirmed that Adetola came to his house and gave him money to give to Emefiele.

Grumnaan further told the court that there was another $200,000 that Ikechukwu-Ayoh had received from the same person and handed over to Emefiele at his office in Lagos.

The prosecution also presented some CBN documents as exhibits before the court.

The EFCC lawyer said the document was an original letter from a company to the EFCC dated February 24, 2024.

However, the defense, led by Olalekan Ojo (SAN) and Kazeem Gbadamosi (SAN), contested their admissibility, citing concerns over authenticity and correct certification.

The defense urged the court to reject all photocopies of the documents as exhibits.

The court, however, overruled their objections and admitted the bundle of documents as Exhibit H.

Additionally, John Adetola’s phone, MI10T, which was still in airplane mode but turned on, was offered and admitted as Exhibit I.

The WhatsApp conversation between Giovanni Adetola and Omoile was analyzed and presented in court.

The prosecution also presented some statements of the second accused made during the investigation and urged the court to admit them into evidence.

The defense lawyer, however, objected that the second defendant had made the statement under duress.

Justice Oshodi, thereafter, adjourned the case to November 21 for the parties’ report on the forensic inspection agreement.

The judge also adjourned the case to December 2 for a trial within a trial.

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