By SCM Judiciary Reporter
LAGOS — Justice Rahman Oshodi of the Special Offences Court sitting in Ikeja, Lagos, on Thursday, admitted into evidence the extra-judicial statements made by the embattled former Governor of the Central Bank of Nigeria (CBN), Godwin Emefiele, marking them as Exhibit P31 in the ongoing trial over an alleged $4.5 billion and N2.8 billion fraud.
Delivering his ruling on the admissibility of the documents, Justice Oshodi dismissed the objections raised by the defence team, clearing the path for the anti-graft agency to proceed with its prosecution.
”The first defendant’s statements made on October 27, October 30, and November 1 and 2, 2023, have been admitted in evidence and marked as Exhibit P31,” the judge ruled.
Emefiele is being prosecuted by the Economic and Financial Crimes Commission (EFCC) on an amended 19-count charge bordering on allocation of foreign exchange, receiving gratification, provoking mis-allocation of foreign exchange, and making corrupt demands while serving as the apex bank chief.
His co-defendant, Henry Ifeanyi Omoile, is facing a three-count charge bordering on the unlawful acceptance of gifts by an agent. Both defendants have maintained a “not guilty” plea since their arraignment.
The admission of the statements followed a heated legal argument between the prosecution and the defence. Counsel to the former CBN Governor, Mr. Olalekan Ojo, SAN, had vehemently objected to the admissibility of the extra-judicial statements tendered by the prosecution.
Ojo contended that the statements were not made voluntarily, arguing that they were obtained under severe oppression, as well as physical and mental torture. The silk reminded the court that his client was allegedly held in the high-security custody of the Department of State Services (DSS) for over 157 days before being handed over to the EFCC, during which the environment was inherently coercive.
He urged the court to reject the statements or, in the alternative, order a trial-within-trial to determine their voluntariness.
Responding to the objection, the Director of Public Prosecutions of the Federation (DPP), Mr. Rotimi Oyedepo, SAN, leading Bilikisu Buhari and C. C. Okezie, countered the defence’s narrative. To prove the legitimacy of the statements, the prosecution called its eighth witness, Alvan Gurumnaan, an operative and investigator with the EFCC.
Led in evidence by Oyedepo, Gurumnaan told the court that Emefiele was treated with the utmost respect during his invitation and questioning. He maintained that all interview sessions were conducted in a conducive environment and strictly in the presence of Emefiele’s legal representatives.
Oyedepo further informed the court that the prosecution had voluntarily withdrawn a specific statement dated October 26, 2023, which the defence had heavily contested, but stood firmly on the statements of October 27, October 30, November 1, and November 2, 2023.
”If the defence does not want that specific statement (October 26), we are prepared to withdraw it,” Oyedepo argued. “We are withdrawing it not because it was obtained through torture or oppression, but to ensure the trial proceeds expeditiously.
Furthermore, there is nothing in the defendant’s statements that can be construed as a confession or admission of the facts in issue.”
Upholding the prosecution’s arguments, Justice Oshodi admitted the remaining statements into evidence.
To ensure a speedy conclusion to the high-profile matter, the trial judge subsequently fixed October 6, 7, and 8, as well as November 11, 12, and 13, 2026, for the continuous and definite hearing of the substantive trial.
The ongoing legal travails of Godwin Emefiele represent one of the most high-profile corruption prosecutions in Nigeria’s financial history. Emefiele, who served as the Governor of the Central Bank of Nigeria for nine years (2014–2023) under Presidents Goodluck Jonathan and Muhammadu Buhari, was suspended from office in June 2023 by President Bola Ahmed Tinubu.
Shortly after his suspension, he was arrested by the Department of State Services (DSS) at his home in Lagos and flown to Abuja, kicking off a long period of detention that sparked intense national debate over the rule of law and executive high-handedness.
The EFCC subsequently took over the case, filing multi-layered charges across different courts. In the Lagos jurisdiction before Justice Oshodi, the anti-graft agency alleges that Emefiele abused his office by arbitrarily allocating billions of dollars in foreign exchange without due process, creating artificial scarcity that distorted the Nigerian economy.
The prosecution further alleges that he used his position to secure corrupt advantages and gratification running into billions of Naira, utilizing proxies and cronies, including his co-defendant, Omoile.
Separately, Emefiele is facing another criminal trial before Justice Hamza Muazu of the Federal High Court in Abuja, where he is accused of procurement fraud involving the unlawful purchase of armored vehicles, printing of banknotes without statutory approval, and the controversial Naira redesign policy implemented in late 2022, which caused a severe cash crunch across the nation ahead of the 2023 general elections.
Emefiele has consistently denied all charges, labeling them as politically motivated witch-hunts.
