The court will rule on the trial of co-defendant Emefiele on May 4

The Lagos Special Offenses Court, Ikeja, has set May 4 for judgment in the trial involving Henry Omoile, a co-accused with former Governor of the Central Bank of Nigeria (CBN), Godwin Emefiele.

Omoile challenged the voluntariness of two statements he made to the Economic and Financial Crimes Commission (EFCC) in the ongoing trial of Emefiele for alleged abuse of office.

Emefiele is on trial on 19 charges over alleged gratification, corruption charges and abuse of office related to major financial transactions.

Omoile, his partner, faces three charges related to his alleged acceptance of unlawful gifts while acting as an agent in CBN-related transactions.

The charges involved alleged transactions worth $4.5 billion and N2.8 billion, which prosecutors said reflected serious breaches of trust and procedure.

On Friday, Justice Rahman Oshodi adjourned the case to rule after the parties gave final written addresses in the hearing-within-a-trial.

Earlier, Omoile’s counsel, Adeyinka Kotoye (SAN), urged the court to dismiss the prosecution’s submissions.

Kotoye argued that the main missing link was the absence of any video recording of the second accused giving a statement to the EFCC.

He argued that the process was not in accordance with Article 9(3) and (4) of the Administration of Criminal Law (ACJL).

He also cited Article 17(1) and (2) ACJA.

According to him, when voluntariness is debated, video recording of interrogations is very important.

Kotoye relied on the authority of the Supreme Court and argued that video evidence was the most reliable way to verify due process compliance.