By SCM Staff Writer I Wednesday, October 08, 2025
IKEJA, Lagos – The Lagos State Special Offences Court sitting in Ikeja is set to deliver a critical ruling on Thursday, October 9, 2025, regarding the admissibility of key digital evidence presented by the Economic and Financial Crimes Commission (EFCC) in the ongoing trial of the immediate-past Governor of the Central Bank of Nigeria (CBN), Godwin Emefiele.
Justice Rahman Oshodi reserved the ruling following a heated legal tussle between the prosecution and defence counsel over the authenticity and certification of documents—including alleged WhatsApp conversations—extracted from a former Executive Assistant to the ex-CBN boss. Emefiele is facing a 19-count charge of alleged fraud, along with his co-defendant, Henry Omoile.
The Digital Trail and Defence’s Resistance
The dramatic turn in the trial came as the EFCC’s witness, operative Alvan Gurumnaan, continued his testimony, detailing the digital trail uncovered during the anti-graft agency’s investigation.
The evidence presented included a bundle of documents comprising WhatsApp conversations between key individuals connected to the case.
In a significant courtroom revelation, Gurumnaan explained the acronym “PCS” found in the chats, testifying that one “piece” was a code used to signify a unit of $1,000.
Further analysis of the mobile phone belonging to the former Executive Assistant, Mr. John Adetola, allegedly unearthed chats with a Mr. Eric Eboh, which contained instructions to deliver $400,000 “for Oga.”
The EFCC operative testified that Adetola confirmed both receiving and delivering the specified amount.
Gurumnaan also noted that efforts to trace and interview the reportedly elusive Mr. Eboh are currently ongoing.
While some documents dated February 2024 were admitted without objection, the subsequent bundle of documents extracted from Adetola’s phone met stiff resistance from the defence team, led by Olalekan Ojo, SAN, and Kazeem Gbadamosi, SAN.
The defence objected to the evidence’s admissibility, citing a lack of proper certification as stipulated by the Evidence Act.
They argued that because the documents were electronically generated and were not produced by John Adetola but by EFCC officers, they must be tendered as a certified true copy in line with Section 84 of the Evidence Act.
Prosecution’s Counter-Argument
Countering the objection, the EFCC’s lead counsel, Rotimi Oyedepo, SAN, vehemently argued that the documents required no such certification.
Oyedepo maintained that the witness was only testifying as to the originality of the equipment used to generate the evidence, which he claimed belonged to the EFCC.
“It is a primary evidence of a private conversation between two people contained in a device,” Oyedepo stated. He contended that “the real document is what was endorsed by Mr. Adetola,” adding that the handwritten portions being opposed by the defence do not alter the contents.
He urged the court to admit the document for evaluation, stressing that it is relevant to the facts in issue and forms the basis of counts 18 to 20 in the charge sheet.
Following the extensive arguments, Justice Rahman Oshodi adjourned the matter until Thursday to deliver his ruling on the admissibility of the contested digital evidence, a decision that could significantly impact the remainder of the high-profile trial.
