Alleged $4.5 billion fraud: Court reserves decision on admissibility of Emefiele’s statements until July 9

Justice Rahman Oshodi of the Special Offenses Court, Ikeja, Lagos, has adjourned proceedings in the alleged $4.5 billion fraud trial involving a former governor of the Central Bank of Nigeria, CBN, Godwin Emefiele, and his co-accused, Henry Omoile, until July 9, 2026, for a decision on the admissibility of extrajudicial statements allegedly made by Emefiele.

Emefiele is being prosecuted by the Economic and Financial Crimes Commission, EFCC, on a 19-count charge bordering on receiving gratification and making bribe demands while serving as CBN governor.

His co-accused, Omoile, is facing three charges bordering on unlawful acceptance of gifts from an officer.

Both defendants have pleaded “not guilty” to the charges.

At the resumed hearing on Friday, the first defendant’s lawyer, Olalekan Ojo, SAN, challenged the admissibility of the extrajudicial statements the prosecution sought to present, arguing that they were not made voluntarily.

Ojo argued that the statements were obtained through physical and mental oppression and torture, while his client was allegedly held in the custody of the Department of State Services, DSS, for over 157 days.

Relying on the provisions of section 4 of the Anti-Torture Act, 2017 and relevant sections of the Evidence Act, he argued that the statements were involuntary and, therefore, inadmissible in evidence.

“The question before this Honorable Court is whether the statements credited to the first defendant were made voluntarily,” he said.

According to him, when the voluntariness of the statement is called into question, the video recording of the interrogation remains the most reliable means of establishing compliance with due process.

He argued that the absence of such recording made the statements unreliable.

Ojo further argued that the prosecution failed to produce independent evidence to support the alleged confessional statements and also questioned the role of the lawyer who is said to have witnessed the interviews.

He urged the court to reject the statements, arguing that any doubts about their voluntariness should be resolved in the defendant’s favor.

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

When brought into evidence, the witness told the court that Emefiele had been invited for interrogation and that all interrogations were conducted in the presence of his legal representative.

He further informed the court that the prosecution had voluntarily withdrawn the statement dated October 26, 2023, but sought to introduce the statements made on October 27, October 30, November 1 and November 2, 2023, as exhibits.

“If the defense does not want this statement, we are ready to withdraw it. We do not withdraw it because it was obtained through torture or oppression,” the witness said.

Oyedepo, thereafter, argued that there was no basis to conduct a trial within a trial, arguing that none of the remaining statements constituted a confession.

“There is nothing in the defendant’s statements that could be construed as an admission of the facts in question,” he said.

He further argued that the anti-torture law does not make a trial within a trial mandatory under the circumstances and urged the court to reject the defense’s objection and allow the substantive trial to proceed expeditiously.

At the start of the proceedings, the second defendant’s lawyer, Adeyinka Kotoye, SAN, informed the court of a pending application seeking permission to appeal against an earlier judgment of the court.

The prosecution indicated that it had no objection to the request, following which Justice Oshodi granted the request.

“I hereby authorize the second respondent to appeal against the court’s ruling,” the judge said.

Justice Oshodi subsequently adjourned the matter to July 9, 2026, to rule on the admissibility of the extrajudicial statements.

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